If The Kunoichi Was Different, Maybe
by DarkQueenDraconite
Summary: Ino is put on Team 7 instead of Sakura, while Sakura is in Team 10. How will events be different with Ino, who will sass the boys around? Canon with variants. SasuIno, later NaruHina.  Previously True Powers of A Kunoichi
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, why would I write a fanfiction?**

_**A/N: In the arcs that follow, everything that's the same (ex. Haku's ice mirrors, the first part of the Chuunin exam) won't have too much description. The story will focus mainly on Ino, how she changes, and her relationship with Naruto and Sasuke. Also, some of the fights and encounters will be different. **_

_**Warning: there will be slight Sakura-bashing, because Ino doesn't like her.**_

Chapter 1: Ha! My teammates own!

Ino smirked to herself as she twirled around, critically eyeing her backside. She'd be standing in front of the mirror for half an hour now, fixing her bangs, and making sure that she looked _good _from all directions. She wasn't going to be outdone by the Sakura twit, that was for sure.

"Perfect!" She finally exclaimed, adjusting her purple clothes one last time. They revealed her abs slightly, showing the world just how _hot _Yamanaka Ino was.

She flounced down to the kitchen. "Ohayo, Kaa-san!" She greeted her mother cheerfully.

"Ino! Isn't today the day you get to meet your genin teams?"

"Yep!" Ino grinned. "We also get to find out who's top shinobi and who's top kunoichi." _I won't be outdone by that forehead girl, that's for sure._

Right then, Inoichi Yamanaka came down the stairs, yawning.

"INOICHI!" Ino winced as her mother's extremely loud voice (even louder than hers!) hit her ears. "What are you doing, sleeping in so late? Your daughter's just graduated from the academy and is on her way to becoming a genin! Honestly, you've been spending far too much time with Shikaku, you're not being a good role model at all!"

Inoichi winced. "Sorry, sweetheart."

Ino's mother fumed, but decided to drop it.

Inoichi slid in the seat next to Ino. "I'm sure you'll be fine with your teammates," he said reassuringly.

"Oh?" Ino raised an eyebrow.

"Iruka-sensei will definitely put you with Shikamaru and Chouji, so we can have the recreation of Ino-Shika-Cho again."

Ino frowned. "But da-ad…Shikamaru is a lazy-ass and Chouji is a fat-ass!"

Inoichi tried not to laugh. "Honey, I'm sure you'll get along with them fine."

Ino scowled as she dug into her food, but didn't say anything. She knew she was going to be with Shikamaru and Chouji for a while now. But still, she wished she could be with Sasuke. _That _would show that idiotic forehead girl.

"I'm going!" She announced as she stood up.

"So soon?" Her mother looked at her, surprised.

"Yeah." _I have to get there before that forehead does, and I can't eat so much anyway, because I'm dieting._

Ino quickly ran out of the house, eager to be off. Behind her, she heard something about "how excited kids were these days", and she snorted. She wasn't a kid anymore. Starting now, she'd be a full-fledged kunoichi.

She slowed to a walk, admiring the trees and flowers around her. She loved the place she lived in, because it was so quiet, so serene…

Then she caught sight of Sakura. And she felt that familiar bubble of hurt and resentment bubble up inside of her. She sniffed, and turned her head away, and saw Sakura do the same.

"Hmph!" They snorted in unison, and started walking.

The walk soon became a fast-walk. Then a jog. Then a run. And finally a sprint, as each girl tried to outdo the other. They both forced themselves into the Academy door, panting heavily.

"Saa-kura-chan!" That was Naruto, no doubt very happy to see that idiot of a pink-haired girl. Honestly, Ino didn't know why Naruto even bothered. Sakura pummeled him with a ruthlessness that shocked even Ino every time.

"Out of my way." Sakura snarled, attempting to get to Sasuke. Ino's lip curled. What a fangirl Sakura was. She smirked. Now was her chance to show the pink-haired girl who was in charge. "Sasuke-kun…" she purred as she wrapped her arms around a dark-haired boy surrounded by fangirls. He simply looked annoyed. _Ha! He didn't try to throw me off! Who's winning, huh, forehead?_

Suddenly, she felt herself being pushed out of the way as an enraged Naruto pushed his way past her and leapt onto the desk Sasuke was occupying. They glared at each other. Ino tried not to snicker.

"You…!" Naruto snarled at Sasuke, who was actually looking very pissed off. Ino sighed. The blond always made a scene. Standing up, she pushed her way over and was about to separate them before Iruka-sensei came, but her arm accidentally brushed Naruto's back.

Naruto's eyes widened as he tipped forward—and locked lips with Sasuke. Ino dropped to the ground. Not from rage, but from laughter.

In a second, they had pulled away and were gagging furiously. Naruto, however, would receive the short end of the stick moments later as Sakura and a bunch of other crazed fangirls decided to pummel him.

_Man, that was funny_, Ino thought, wiping a tear from her eye as Iruka-sensei called for order. _Sakura's probably moaning about not being Sasuke's first kiss now._

"Okay, today we will announce your Genin teams and rankings!" Iruka-sensei announced. An excited murmur swept through the class.

"Number 1 is…"

_Is…? _Ino thought breathlessly.

"Yamanaka Ino!"

Ino stared. And punched her fist in the air. Oh yeah! Take that, damn it!

"Number 2 is…"

"Uchiha Sasuke!"

The fangirls all rejoiced, but many still shot dark looks at Ino when they thought she wasn't watching. Sasuke, however, looked rather disgruntled that he was second.

Ino smirked. Sasuke may be a genius, but he had bad qualities, such as his lack of cooperation. Ino was the best-rounded.

The list went on. Shino, the boy with bugs always around him, was third and Sakura, who looked very, very, angry, was fourth. Hinata, a shy girl with dark hair was sixth. Finally, Naruto was dead last (30th). Ino also noticed that Chouji and Shikamaru were at the bottom as well. She snorted.

"So now," Iruka-sensei said, "We'll announce the Genin teams!"

Everyone sat upright, staring at the people around them.

"Team 1 is Ayano Nogashita, Akira Izune, and Daisuke Sute!" There was a groan from Ayano, while the two boys gave each other high fives.

The list went on. Ino waited breathlessly.

"Team 7 is Uchiha Sasuke—"

The uncalled fangirls, including Sakura squealed (Ino did too, but just for show).

"—Yamanaka Ino—"

_Hell yeah! _Ino thought. She grinned.

Sakura glowered. Sasuke looked warily at her as if he expected her to glomp him.

"—And Uzumaki Naruto!"

Ino almost whooped. Sasuke would be a great asset to the team, as he was a good fighter, so Ino could trap the enemies and Sasuke could finish them off. And Ino had heard some cool things about Naruto as well. Believe it or not, but Ino was one of the few people who didn't hate Naruto.

Who Ino was more concerned about was Sasuke. Ino was tired of putting the facade of adoring Sasuke up. Yes…she had done it only to spite that forehead girl.

_**A/N: Flashbacks are in italics.**_

___Ino heard Sakura shouting, heard her announce that she liked Sasuke. Ino liked Sasuke herself, but she was willing to let him go if it made Sakura happy. Sakura was like a younger sister to her, after all. Though, they were the same age, both eight years old._

_ Sakura, however, had noticed Ino's brooding face, and her face fell. "Y-you like Sasuke-kun too, right, Ino?"_

_ Ino had just tried to laugh it off, saying that liking boys now wasn't such a big deal. But Sakura had looked up at her solemnly. "Ino…" Sakura said. "If you like Sasuke-kun too, we're no longer friends. We're rivals."_

And Ino had secretly hated that girl ever since. She had been willing to adopt Sakura, to protect her, because well, Ino thought that Sakura was cute and fragile. She was best friends with Sakura to the point that she would give up the boy she liked because of her. But Sakura did not thank Ino for being there for her, for being her friend. No, she would give Ino up to chase after a boy that Ino liked.

_If you were a good friend, Sakura, _Ino thought, _then you would've respected that we both liked him. And you would've heard me when I said I'd give him up for you._

_ But now, _Ino thought gleefully, _looks like karma caught up. I got Sasuke and Naruto._

Ino smirked, and looked over at Sakura, who looked quite defeated. She also caught Hinata's eye. The girl looked despondent.

_Eh? _Ino thought. _I didn't know she liked Sasuke as well._

Ino followed Hinata's gaze, and saw it landed on…Naruto.

Ino's mouth dropped open. Was Hinata…interested in Naruto? Ino smirked. Well well…this would be interesting.

Ino whistled cheerfully as the final teams were called—Shikamaru, Chouji, and Sakura. Things couldn't have been better. Sakura was stuck with a fat-ass and a lazy-ass.

Hinata had landed with Shino and Kiba.

And she had been landed with Sasuke and Naruto. _This'll be awesome, _she thought.

The genin teams all assembled together now. Some of them looked absolutely horrified at the prospect of being on a team with the other, but others looked fairly happy. Sakura was in the horrified camp, while Ino was in the happy camp. Naruto, however, looked rather sad. Ino knew he wanted to be with Sakura. What a dumbass. Luckily, Sasuke didn't seem to be too sad.

"Alright, let's go!" Ino cheered, leading the way to the classroom they were supposed to wait for. _ I wonder who our sensei is…_

She abruptly stopped as Sasuke didn't follow. "Sasuke?"

Sasuke's head jerked up. "I don't need to follow you."

Ino quivered with rage. How dare he? She marched over to him. "Look, _pretty boy._"

Sasuke's mouth dropped open. In sixty seconds, Ino had changed from fangirl to tomboy.

"I never liked you, and I never will." Ino snarled. "Just because you're some prodigy doesn't mean _you_ get special treatment."

Then, she noticed Sasuke's mouth was twitching slightly.

"What the hell are you laughing at?" She screeched, pointing her finger at him.

"Nothing. Stay this way, I like you better this way." And he sauntered off.

Ino stared after him, mouth dropping. Did he just say he liked her? Behind her, Naruto grumbled. "Let's go, dattebayo!" He whined.

"Alright, alright, let's go." She said, sprinting ahead so she could be ahead. There was no way _Sasuke _would be team leader.

**If you review, I'll give you a cookie! And if you don't, Gai will haunt you into wearing spandex.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I own Naruto—in my dreams.**

**_A/N: A huge thanks to my signed reviewers, Ino2613, Puxie, x-GaaIno-x-For-Life-x,_** **_ShikaInoInuKikIchiHime36_**, **_ByakuganHyuuga360, and KukiRew. If any of you want to be my beta, that would be awesome! Also, cookies and thanks for my anonymous reviewers, SasuIno and jj! I'm a very happy author! _**

**Chapter 2: Idiotic but Cool: Meet Kakashi-sensei!**

_Part 1: First Impression_

Ino swung her long legs impatiently as she sat on the small classroom desk. This was her first day as a Genin—and her sensei was late! Puffing her cheeks, she let out a stream of air to lift her bangs out of her face.

Naruto, who had been scampering around, suddenly laughed.

"What?" Ino asked, curious.

He just pointed at her. "You look like a blowfish when you do that!" He cackled.

Ino resisted the urge to smash him. Instead, she said, "That's not good to tell a girl, Naruto. They might think you're saying that they're fat."

"Girls are weird, then." Naruto said, frowning.

Ino resisted the urge to sigh. Really, did he have no manners? Next to her, Sasuke snorted with derision. He was another one who didn't have any manners. Ino resisted the urge to smack him as well. She was resisting a lot of things, apparently.

"Hey, Naruto…" she said, half to herself, half to him.

"What?" Naruto looked up from under the teacher's desk.

"Is it true that you beat Mizuki-sensei with a bunch of clones?"

Naruto's eyes opened wide. "Who told you that?"

"My dad's a close friend of Shikaku Nara, who's the Jonin Commander of Konoha. So of course, he'd get all the juicy gossip."

"Juicy gossip?" Naruto looked confused.

"Never mind," Ino sighed. "So did you?"

Naruto grinned at her. "I did! You know that Mizuki-sensei was arrested, because he tried to steal a secret scroll? And I caught him!"

Ino was impressed. "And that's how you graduated? Tell me more!"

Naruto needed no second invitation. "Okay, so this is what happened…!" And he told his story, omitting certain parts when he was scared. "And so, that's what happened!"

Ino listened, her eyes wide. "Wow! You created something called shadow clones?"

"Yeah…it was a secret technique, you know!" He puffed his chest out, proud.

Ino was envious. What she would give to learn a secret technique…but of course, Naruto being Naruto, she could get the technique whenever she wanted. Ino smiled happily, gleeful that she had Naruto on her team.

"That is really cool!" Ino gushed. "Ha, so you're even better than Sasuke!"

Sasuke, who had been listening casually the whole time, spun around and glared at her.

She stuck her tongue out at him. "Just kidding! And where's that idiot of a sensei, anyways?" She grumbled.

"Over here…"

Gasping, Ino turned around, to see the oddest man she had ever seen walk in. He was holding an orange book in front of his face, which Ino recognized—her dad sometimes read it, but always furtively hid it under his pillow whenever her mom came—and this man had spiky silver hair as well as a mask around half his face.

_Oops. _She thought. _That was NOT a good impression._

"That's okay…" the man said in a rather drowsy voice. "I was late, after all. But if I hear you addressing me like that again…" the threat hung in the air. Ino gulped. Sasuke snorted. Naruto laughed.

Suddenly, Naruto let go of the chalk eraser he had been holding, and flung it at their sensei. The man blinked, and it hit him.

"…" Sasuke and Ino thought.

"HAHAHA!" Naruto yelled. "I can't believe you couldn't dodge it!"

Their sensei didn't respond to him.

"Well…to put it simply…" he looked them all over. "My first impression of you is…"

He pointed at Naruto. "An idiot who has no regard for danger."

Naruto looked furious. "Hey-!"

He pointed at Sasuke. "A stuck-up loner who doesn't seem to get along well with his teammates."

Sasuke scowled darkly and looked away. But he didn't deny it.

Finally, their sensei pointed at Ino. "A foul-mouth who looks like she's half blind."

Ino was outraged. How dare he insult her bangs like that?

"Well…" the silver-haired man said, sighing. "I don't really like you guys. But let's go to the pavilion outside and introduce ourselves."

And he casually walked around into the hall.

Needless to say, Sasuke, Ino, and Naruto were not happy with _their _first impression of their sensei.

"Well…" their sensei said once they all were sitting inside the grassy pavilion. "How about we all tell each other our name, our likes and dislikes, and our hobbies and dreams? I'll start. My name is Hatake Kakashi…I don't feel like telling you what I like or dislike, and I don't really have any hobbies or dreams…"

_Except obscuring your face with that mask or book? _Ino thought. _And we didn't really learn anything besides your name either…_

"I'll go now!" Naruto cheered. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto, I like ramen, I dislike the 3 minutes you have to wait before you can eat cup ramen and what I like to do is to eat ramen! And my dream is to be the best Hokage, and make everyone acknowledge me!"

Sasuke, Ino, and Kakashi, who had been sweatdropping since Naruto started his sentence, blinked when they heard the last line. _Heh…he's actually pretty cool. _Ino thought.

And then Naruto added—"Oh, and I also hate Sasuke!"

Sasuke snorted, and turned away. Kakashi blinked. _Hmm…interesting, _he thought.

"Now, how about you, Ino?" Kakashi encouraged.

"Well…" Ino said. "Contrary to popular belief, I do not like Sasuke."

_Well, well, looks like I got an interesting kunoichi…_Kakashi thought. _Iruka said everyone except perhaps that Hinata girl liked him._

"I like gardening, I dislike Haruno Sakura—"

"WHAT?" Naruto yelped. "Ino-chan! I thought you were a nice person!"

"For your information," Ino said coldly, "She betrayed me in the worst way possible."

"How? Sakura-chan is so pretty and nice!"

"Well, maybe to _Sasuke _here, but how would you feel if you extended your friendship, and someone took it only to throw it away?"

Naruto was silent. All the friendships he had had turned out that way, so he could empathize.

"So let's see…my hobbies are working in the flower shop and shopping! And…uh, training, when I get time." She added, after taking a look at Kakashi-sensei's face. "My dream is to be beautiful and also deadly at once in the battlefield!"

_Well, at least she's not completely appearance-obsessed, _Kakashi thought. "Okay then," Kakashi said. "How about you, Sasuke?"

Sasuke stared down his knees. "I don't like anything, really. I hate a lot of things. And my hobby—no, my dream—is to kill…a certain someone and to restart my clan. It's not going to be a dream though, because I'll do it."

_This guy's whacked up, _Ino thought. _Let's see if the wonderful Ino can change that._

_ Gulp…I hope he doesn't mean me, _Naruto thought.

_Just as I thought. _Kakashi thought rather smugly.

"Well, that was interesting." Kakashi said brightly. "I learned a lot about you. But today, we won't have any more tasks. So, tomorrow, meet me in Training Ground Three at six am for our first task."

"Mission, mission!" Naruto chanted, excited.

"Not quite…" Kakashi said. "Well, you'll know tomorrow."

And he turned around and walked away. "Oh…and be sure not to eat any breakfast. You'll throw up."

_Huh? _Ino blinked.

Naruto, meanwhile, groaned. "No breakfast?" He echoed.

Sasuke, however, looked thoughtful.

"Well. Ja ne, for now!" And he poofed away.

"How interesting…" Ino said, as they watched the smoke from Kakashi's departure drift away.

"What?" Sasuke turned his head sharply around.

"Why we can't eat any breakfast…what could we do that would make us throw up?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "It IS very suspicious. One thing, though, would be making us hang upside down, causing the blood to go to our heads.

Ino frowned. "That's true, but as shinobi, we're trained not to throw up."

Sasuke nodded. "The other thing may be is that he's assessing us and seeing how well we function on an empty stomach."

Ino nodded. "True. You think we should eat any breakfast?"

"I'd eat a little bit in case, but not a full breakfast."

Ino nodded again. "That makes sense."

"Hey, hey!" They both swiveled their heads around to Naruto, who had been forgotten. "What are you talking about?"

"…Never mind. I'll explain it to you as we walk home." Ino said, sighing.

She shot an amused glance at Sasuke, who didn't even glare at her—rather, he seemed to be amused too.

"Let's go." Ino said, and she hooked her arms around Sasuke and Naruto—Sasuke flinched, but she was holding on too tight.

So the three of them walked off, displaying an uncanny amount of friendship. Kakashi, up a tree, who was still watching the three of them, smiled.

When Ino got home, she was beaming. She'd gotten the secret to the Kage Bunshins (Shadow Clones) and now she wanted to try it. Apparently, Naruto had done it without any hand seals, so Ino was confident she could master it in a few tries.

"Kage bunshin no jutsu!" She cried. Nothing appeared. "Well, that was to be expected," she told herself. "Let's try again."

But nothing appeared on the second, third, fourth, and fifth tries. And, she felt her chakra depleting. "Damn, I didn't think just practicing would take up this much chakra," she grumbled. "One more time, and that's it. I have to save my chakra for whatever we're doing tomorrow."

She screwed up her eyes, and tried to pour her chakra into this last try. "Kage bunshin no jutsu!" She heard a poof.

"Yeah!" She cried, opening her eyes, only to scream.

A demented clone was lying in a heap in front of her, apparently not having enough chakra to sustain its appearance.

"Ugh…" she groaned. "This is hard…" she flopped down on her bed.

"Ino?" Her mom called from outside the door.

"Yeah?"

"Is everything alright? How'd your first day go?"

"Oh, sorry, Mom, I forgot to tell you…" she jumped off her bed and opened the door. "I'm not in a team with Shikamaru and Chouji."

Her mom furrowed her brow. "Inoichi was sure you'd be the second generation of his old gang. What was Iruka thinking?"

Ino pouted. "Mo-om…it's not that bad. I got Sasuke and Naruto! You know, Sasuke's the number one in fighting and schoolwork and Naruto's pretty wild as well, for a dead last."

Ino expected her mother to sigh, to say that she was exaggerating, or even to say that her dad would be disappointed. She did not expect her mother to go pale.

"Y-you're on a team with Uzumaki?"

"Yeah…but he's not the delinquent everyone thinks he is, Mom! Come on, this is actually better than being stuck with Shikamaru and Chouji."

Her mom was shaking her head. "How could he? How could he? You're already picking up bad habits, I heard you trying to attempt the Kage Bunshin just now…that's a dangerous technique…I'm going to tell Inoichi straight away!"

"Mom! What's wrong with you?" Ino hopped out of the room after her mom. "It's not like it's that unexpected anyway. Usually, the top shinobi and the top kunoichi and the dead last are paired on a team. That's how it always works. Like last year, it was a girl named Tenten, I think. There's no need to complain about Naruto!"

"Naruto? Are you on first name basis?" Ino's mother turned around, breathing heavily. "That's it. I'm ending this right now. There's no way, on my father's dead body, that I'll let you and him be on the same team!"

Ino was shocked as her mom strode out of the door, slamming it. She'd never seen her mom like _this. _"Seriously, what does she have against Naruto?" She muttered.

When her mom came home a few hours later, she dragged Inoichi home with her. Ino leapt up from where she was reading a scroll on her bed, and opened her door slightly.

"Can't believe…Iruka told…won't change…Ino…container…"

Her mom spat these words out as she took off her shoes. Ino listened harder, but no other words came after "container", whatever that meant. She heard her dad soothing her mom, telling her not to say such things…but Ino wanted her mom to keep talking. She wanted to know what exactly was wrong.

At dinner that night, Ino's mom kept shooting her worried looks. Ino determinedly kept her eyes on her plate. Inoichi was glancing nervously around. But no one said anything.

After dinner, Ino decided to go to sleep. She would be getting up at 5:20 the next morning, so she needed to sleep early. So she was surprised when her dad followed her in.

"Ino…" he said gravely, lines on his face more pronounced than usual. "Are you sure you still want to be a kunoichi?"

Ino stared at him, shocked. What kind of question was that? This was what she'd been training for all these years.

"It'll be dangerous…many shinobi don't last until their twenties…and for you, it may be even more dangerous."

Ino lifted an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"You'll find out when you're older. But it might…you might…"

Ino was confused. What was her father rambling about?

"Ino, I won't be mad if you back out of being a kunoichi now. There are many other professions you can choose from, and none of them will be as dangerous."

"Dad." Ino stared at him. "I've always wanted to be a kunoichi. I know it is dangerous, but it's always been my dream. I've always known that."

Her dad looked at her. Ino thought she detected a hint of pride in his gaze. "Very well, Ino. You truly are my daughter." And he slowly walked out the door, gently closing the door behind him. Ino looked after the door for a long time. She hugged her knees. Tomorrow, her days as a Genin would truly begin. Tomorrow, the adventure would begin.

**Reviews are appreciated and each one is hugged lovingly by me. I'll give you a brownie this time if you review. If not, you'll be haunted to wear an orange jumpsuit for the rest of your days! And the adventure starts next chapter! **

**EDIT: If this doesn't show all the names of my reviewers, sorry! I accidentally uploaded the wrong document first :(  
**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: Since Masashi Kishimoto made Ino so weak in Shippuden, I don't think he'd write a fanfiction about her.**

_**A/N: Whoa. Stares at inbox, and cries tears of joy. You people are the best ever! Thank you, 1hellyeahz1, Dipped In Pocky, Kurtalmak, x-GaaIno-x-For-Life-x, ByakuganHyuuga360, jj, Ino2613, Ino Yamanaka-chan, The Hunter of Artemis, ShikaInoInuKikIchiHime36, Puxie, and Kukirew! Your encouragement makes me so happy!**_

_**Oh, and also, sorry for the late update! I promised I'd have a chapter out by yesterday, but I decided to make it longer just for you guys.**_

**Chapter 3: Idiotic But Cool: Meet Kakashi-sensei!**

_Part 2: Bell Test_

Ino ate a granola bar the next morning, not caring whether or not it had any unhealthy fat in it or not. It was 5:30 in the morning, for Kami's sake! None of her parents were up, and Ino had dark shadows under her eyes because she couldn't sleep. After all, she was too excited about shinobi life starting…and apprehensive, too. What had her dad meant?

Yawning, she idly wondered it Naruto or Sasuke had had the same problem as her. _Well, hopefully they didn't, because if we're doing something as a group, I'll be half-asleep. _

Still rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Ino took out her makeup set. Today, she didn't even want to put any on at all, but she knew she looked terrible. So in the end, she just put a bit of clear lip gloss and some eyeliner on. "Whatever…" she muttered as she went out the door.

She walked for about twenty minutes. Now it was 5:55 AM. "Ohayo…" Ino said as she came up to Training Ground Three. Sasuke was there already. He simply nodded in response.

Ino decided to sit down by a tree to relax before Kakashi-sensei came. "So…tired…" she muttered, her eyes closing.

She couldn't see, but Sasuke's lips quirked up in a bit of a smile as he watched her. He had to admit that she was much better when she was innocent like this or being witty, rather than when she was a fangirl. She was a lot easier to deal with this way.

"Ino-chan, Sasuke…" Naruto greeted them as he arrived just on time. "Isn't Kakashi-sensei here yet?"

Ino shook her head no. "I'm going to take a nap…" she told him. "Wake me when Kakashi-sensei comes, alright?" She shut her eyes, and turned her head to the side.

And she was out in a blink. Perhaps she learned more from Shikamaru then she cared to say.

Naruto watched her with amusement. "Hey, Sasuke…" he said to Sasuke, who lifted an eyebrow.

"What is it?"

"Ino-chan's actually pretty cute when she's asleep."

"Hn." Sasuke said, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

And the three of them were silhouettes against the brightening sky—two standing boys surrounding a sleeping girl—and it seemed like both boys at least had agreed on one thing—the girl among them needed the most protection.

Of course, this would be far from true.

"He's late!" Naruto complained half an hour later. "What was he thinking?"

Sasuke, however, thought he knew. Surreptitiously, he fingered the energy bar in his pocket. Was Kakashi going to test them on empty stomachs?

The sun steadily rose, and Sasuke remained standing. Naruto, however, had given up due to fatigue and was slumped down in a nearby patch of grass. Ino was still sleeping, her breath lifting her bangs every few seconds.

At half past eight, Sasuke ate his energy bar. Even he was getting irked by now—he was sure that none of the other senseis were this cruel.

Ino woke up at nine, and yawned. "Hey." She said, not looking at Sasuke, who simply said "hn."

"You know, I really should teach manners one of these days…" she said, staring at a tree. Then, she promptly rolled over and fell back asleep.

'…' Sasuke thought.

Naruto, during this whole exchange, rolled over, rubbed his nose (Kiba would've said picked it) and kept on snoring (he'd fallen asleep some time ago).

Sasuke stared at his teammates. Was he the only sane one around here?

Ino finally actually woke up at 9:40. "Hi Sasuke!" She said cheerily, finally having gotten enough sleep. "What time is it?"

Sasuke sighed. "You should be able to tell by the positioning of the sun as well as the length of the shadows around you."

"Don't be such a spoilsport!" She whined. "It was a simple question!"

He just "hn'ed" with a smirk, and she promptly tackled him, giving him a good noogie.

"Ow-get off!" Sasuke hissed, trying to wriggle himself out of such a disgraceful situation.

"Don't worry, you can't get out," she said brightly. "I've done this to Shikamaru enough times, and he's never gotten out."

Sasuke scowled. "Don't compare me to someone like him—"

"Don't insult him!" Ino shrieked, pounding Sasuke with her fists. "He's a hell lot smarter than you!"

Sasuke snorted. Shikamaru? One of the dead lasts?

Ino huffed and shoved her elbow into Sasuke's stomach, and he doubled over.

"Hey, you okay?" Ino withdrew her elbow, looking concerned. "I don't think I hit you that—"

Sasuke abruptly shot up and Ino rolled off him. "Hey!" She said indignantly. "That was cheap!"

Sasuke smirked. "Never make assumptions." Ino scowled at him, and stomped back to her tree. Sasuke watched her go with a triumphant look in his eye.

The two of them ignored each other for the next ten minutes (Naruto was still snoring) but peace soon was restored. The other's presence was simply…there. Ino languidly picked a few wildflowers, and Sasuke had his eyes closed as he breathed deeply in and out.

Finally, Naruto woke up. It was about 10:45, judging by the sun's position, Sasuke thought.

"Eh?" Naruto said grumpily, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "How come Kakashi-sensei still isn't here?"

"I'm here." The drowsy voice of their sensei floated over to them. Sasuke's eyes snapped open. He hadn't noticed the presence of his sensei…_he's strong, _Sasuke thought. Ino froze in the midst of making a flower bracelet, and slowly turned around.

The silver-haired Jounin had appeared from nowhere, and was about 20 yards from them, watching them with an amused look (or Ino surmised, she couldn't see anything with the mask).

"You're late!" Ino and Naruto screamed. Even Sasuke was looking affronted.

"Well, I saw a black cat on my way here, so I had to take the long route around…"

"That's a pathetic excuse, sensei," Ino sniffed. But secretly she was glad. She'd gotten enough sleep now, after all.

Kakashi didn't say anything, just eyed them all. "Well…are you ready for today?"

"YEAH!" Naruto yelled.

"Yeah!" Ino said.

"Hn." Sasuke nodded.

"I wouldn't be so sure…" Kakashi warned. "You see, I don't think you'll like today's activity."

All three Genin cocked their heads at him in question.

"How should I explain this…" Kakashi mused.

"Tell us!" Naruto pleaded.

"Okay then. To put it bluntly, only one-third of the Academy graduates will become Genin."

There was a silence. Then—"WHAT?" Naruto yelped.

Ino gulped.

Sasuke just eyed Kakashi. He, of course, would be the one out of their team to pass.

"So, today, we'll be taking a survival test to see who will pass to become Genin." Kakashi took out two bells from his pocket. "The goal for all of you is to get these bells."

"But sensei…" Ino ventured. "There are only two bells, and three of us."

"Exactly. At least one of you will fail. But that doesn't mean all of you won't. All three of you could fail, or perhaps two of you."

"But sensei, this isn't fair!" Naruto started to complain. "We graduated Academy, didn't we? Shouldn't we all be Genin?"

Kakashi's eye turned flinty. "The way of the ninja is a hard path. Only select few can chose it. So we will weed out the people who cannot survive first. You shouldn't be complaining."

"But sensei!" Ino thought of something startling. "What happens if more than one-third of the Academy graduates pass the test?"

Kakashi gave her a creepy smile (at least it looked like it). "Ah, I was hoping you'd ask that question."

Ino gulped.

"Well…let's just say you'll have to compete against the other passed Genin."

_Wonderful, _Inner-Ino muttered. _Just wonderful._

_ Shut up, you. _Regular-Ino thought. _I thought I got rid of you a long time ago. _

Inner Ino snorted, and withdrew.

"Are we ready to begin?" Kakashi asked brightly. "Remember, you have to come at me with killer intent or you'll never pass! You have one hour to try to get a bell from me…"

He stepped into a clearing. "Oh…and the losers won't have any lunch." Kakashi pointed to the bentos (lunches) on the ground near the posts. "I'll personally tie them to the post for an hour as they go hungry."

_I knew it! _Ino seethed. Sasuke was thinking similarly too, by the way he was eyeing Kakashi. Naruto, however, had an absolutely horrified look on his face.

"Well, off you go!" Kakashi said. "The clock is set to 12 'o clock. You must get a bell from me by then!"

And all three Genin took off in opposite directions (Naruto would've stayed and tried to fight one-on-one, but Ino threw him bodily into a tree, which he wriggled out of, cursing, and disappeared into another one, his element of surprise foiled).

Somewhere far away, in the Hokage's office, Umino Iruka was banging his head repeatedly against a wall.

Ino took refuge in one of the trees, eyeing Kakashi-sensei, who was leaning on a tree, looking bored. _What should I do? _Suddenly, an idea came to her.

She took off, not noticing Kakashi-sensei's amused look as his eyes followed her. Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity of searching (10 minutes) she caught a flash of orange. Putting on a burst of speed, she grabbed it, and Naruto's struggling form appeared.

"What the hell, Ino?" He asked as he tried to struggle out of her grip.

"Shut up! This is for your own good. Now help me find Sasuke."

Grudgingly, he came along with her as she scoured the undergrowth. Sasuke's blue shirt would be hard to find in the undergrowth, but he had white shorts on…

It was so faint, Ino might've imagined it, but she could've sworn that patch of white wasn't sunlight. She raced down and grabbed it, to see a livid Uchiha Sasuke's face.

"Ino?" He asked, looking enraged. "What are you doing?" He had his hands clamped firmly on his shorts which were threatened to be pulled off.

"I'll explain later," she hissed, casting a nervous look at Kakashi, who had pulled out his orange book. She grabbed both boys and dragged them to a glade where they couldn't be overheard.

"Okay, guys, so here's the plan," she began, only to be cut off by Sasuke.

"Look, Ino, I don't know if you got the point, but we're supposed to do this alone." He hissed. "That's why there are only two bells."

"Oh, be quiet!" She whispered, smacking him over the head. "You realize that if we went up against him one-on-one, we'd never get a bell?"

Sasuke looked affronted. "Maybe for you, but—"

"No, not even you, Mr. Smarty-pants, can get it! He's a Jonin, for Kami's sake! I've sparred with my dad enough to know that there's absolutely no way I can win one-on-one against one."

Sasuke didn't look convinced. "If all three of us work together, we'll have to fight over the two bells."

Ino, however, was looking smug. "You forget my special ability. You see, I have the Shintenshin no Jutsu (_**A/N: Mind Transfer Jutsu for the people who watch dub). **_Now, here's the plan…you guys can add parts if you want…we'll all be able to get bells if it succeeds…"

Nearby, Kakashi smirked.

"HIYA!" Naruto cried as he stepped into the clearing where Kakashi was twenty minutes later. "I want to fight you one-on-one, Kakashi-sensei!"

Kakashi lazily scrutinized him. "Okay," he said, eyes returning back to his book.

"You—" Naruto yelled, before charging forward and punching Kakashi, who blocked the punch with a lazy flick of his arm. Naruto attempted to kick him, and Kakashi nimbly leapt backwards. Naruto continued to persevere, and continued punching and kicking, all which Kakashi dodged and blocked. This continued for at least fifteen minutes.

"Naruto, this doesn't seem to be getting you anywhere," Kakashi observed cooly.

"Oh yeah? Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Two clones appeared on either side of Naruto. All three of them charged at Kakashi, and Kakashi leapt backwards and kicked both clones neatly out of existence.

"Well…let's end this now." Kakashi said. He reappeared by Naruto who was at the river's edge. "Konoha's Ultimate Taijutsu Move…One Thousand Years of Death!"

Naruto's eyes opened wide. "Eee!" He cried as Kakashi propelled him 50 feet forwards into the river by doing something Ino would rather not look at.

Sasuke and Ino winced as they saw Naruto's pain as he splashed into the water. Soon, the blond boy emerged, soaking wet, and clutching his behind with a look of pain. And Kakashi's eyes widened as clones from the river latched around him.

"Gotcha!" Naruto crowed as he stepped onto land. "Kakashi-sensei, you forgot that you can never let the opponent get behind you."

One of the clones aimed a punch at Kakashi, and the man's eyes widened—

"Ah!" The clone punched another clone, which was knocked out of existence—"Replacement!" Naruto gasped—and Kakashi appeared on top of the nearest tree.

"Well, Naruto, that was a good try," he said to the sodden boy, but his eyes widened again as clones who leapt out from behind the trees suddenly raced by, as well as Uchiha Sasuke.

Kakashi-sensei was truly caught now. He'd been bound to the tree with the razor wires Sasuke was fond of using, clones on either side of him wearing identical grins and holding the wires.

Sasuke reappeared in front of him. "Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!" (_**A/N: Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu for the dub watchers) **_and his hands flashed the signs, which ended on Tiger.

He breathed flames and Kakashi was ignited in a huge fireball. Sasuke stepped back, looking satisfied—

And Kakashi reappeared right behind him on the rock behind him. "Nice, Sasuke," he said approvingly. "But you still haven't gotten me—"

And Ino stepped out of the bushes and yelled "Shintenshin no Jutsu!"

Kakashi looked stunned. Even he couldn't avoid this, he knew, even with a Subsitution Jutsu, because Ino was standing so close, so he closed his eyes, and—

Kakashi poofed out of existence.

_Holy crap! _Ino's spirit swore as she moved forward out of her body. _Great, now I have to find my way back to my body again—_

And Sasuke, seeing what had happened, leaped backwards, and Ino slid into a body that wasn't her own—

Ino/Sasuke blinked as she/he adjusted to new surroundings. "What the hell…" Ino muttered, as she flexed long, worn, pale fingers that were definitely not her own. She glanced at her blue shirt, and white shorts. _I'm Sasuke. _She jogged a few steps in place, and she felt stronger than she had in her own body. _Damn. _But the thing is, why did Sasuke move to cover her?

_Release it! _A voice hissed from the back of her mind, presumably Sasuke's spirit.

"Kai! _**(A/N: Release!) **_and Ino felt herself lift out of Sasuke's body and back to her own. She blinked, and found herself looking up at the sky from where she had collapsed.

Sasuke blinked as well as he gained control of his body again.

"Why did you…?" Ino asked.

Sasuke shrugged. "I didn't want you to take time to get back to your own body. Then we'd have no chance of carrying out the plan."

But Ino smiled all the same. Sasuke didn't have time to think of that in the split second that he had leaped—he had done it purely out of instinct.

"Yo." Kakashi said cheerfully as he reappeared above them. "Time's up."

Ino and Sasuke groaned. Naruto, who had just came staggering up from the riverbank groaned as well.

A few minutes later, they were all seated at the feet of the posts, looking up at Kakashi-sensei with mournful faces (well, not really Sasuke). Kakashi, however, couldn't have looked happier.

"You all…"

He paused.

"PASS!"

Ino was the first to react. She squealed, and threw her arms around Kakashi, who looked immensely uncomfortable.

"What?" Naruto looked flabbergasted. "Really? WOW! That's awesome!"

Sasuke breathed out a sigh of relief, with a tiny smile on his face.

"Now," Kakashi said, when he disentangled Ino's arm from around his neck, "Why do you think I passed you even when none of you got a bell?"

All three looked hesitant. "Maybe…you gauged each one of our performances as Genin-level?" Ino answered.

Kakashi shook his head. "You all have techniques, yes, but what's more important than that?"

Surprisingly, it was Sasuke who answered. "Teamwork."

"Yes." Kakashi said lazily. "Teamwork. Now, if it hadn't been for Ino here, no doubt I would've failed you two." He nodded toward Sasuke and Naruto.

"Though, if Ino did not have the Shintenshin no Jutsu, she might not have been able to think of this plan, and the two of you might not have agreed to work with her. Also, if Ino had been raised in a non-shinobi family, she also would not have known that a Jonin was much, much stronger than a Genin. So, it is very lucky that Ino had the circumstances she did, and that you two had her on your team."

Ino beamed. Sasuke and Naruto looked rather put out, however.

"Don't worry, Naruto, Sasuke." Kakashi assured them. "It wasn't only because of Ino that you managed to impress me. Your skills are definitely above Academy level. But more about teamwork now."

He lazily took out his book, and started to read. "I tried to turn you all against each other, by hinting that you would have to compete against your peers if more than one–third of the graduates passed, and by having only two bells. But you all worked together, and Ino even came up with the idea of transforming a rock into an extra bell once she had possessed my body." His eyes scanned the words as he spoke.

"So now, let's comment on personal performance. Let's start with Naruto. That Kage Bunshin no Jutsu of yours is very impressive," Kakashi told Naruto, who grinned sheepishly. Then he turned to Sasuke. "Your speed is also very impressive, and I was surprised you actually consented to share your razor wires."

Finally, he turned to Ino. "I haven't seen much about you except for your Shintenshin no Jutsu, but I have to admit that I was impressed by your plan."

"But…" Ino said, looking crestfallen. "All of us together could only beat your clone."

"Ah, that was the flaw in your plan," Kakashi said wisely. "When you dragged the others to another clearing, I made a Kage Bunshin in the clearing and took off after you. You must never lose sight of your opponent. But, you managed to best my clone. That is impressive."

Now, he addressed all three of them. "Now, I was able to deduce your fighting styles and how you'll work as a team. I have to say it works out perfectly."

The three listened with bated breaths.

"First, Naruto. You are our short range fighter, using clones and taijutsu to beat your opponent. If we are ever to meet enemy ninja, you will be the first to distract them and to weaken them."

Naruto looked immensely proud.

"Then, Sasuke. You are our mid-range fighter, though you can be a short-range or long-range as well. You have your fire jutsus from your clan, and you are speedy, so you can land attacks. Has your Sharingan developed yet?"

Sasuke eyed Kakashi. "No." He said.

Ino and Naruto were confused. "Sharingan?" Naruto queried.

"It is the prize of the Uchiha clan," Kakashi said vaguely, and Naruto asked no more.

"Though, Sasuke," Kakashi said. "When your Sharingan does develop, you will be able to copy and predict enemy ninjas' moves from a relatively safe distance, while helping Naruto."

Sasuke nodded.

"Finally, Ino. You will be our long range fighter, with your Yamanaka clan jutsus. You will be able to confuse and attack our enemies using your mind, which will cause dissension around their ranks. While Sasuke and Naruto distract the enemies, you'll go in for the kill."

Ino nodded. "But, sensei, if the opponent gets hurt, I'll also—"

"Yes, so I'd advise you to learn the Shinranshin no Jutsu _**(A/N: Mind Destruction Jutsu, which is where the caster controls the movements of the victim while retaining the use of his/her own body. Inoichi used this in the Invasion of Konoha) **_as soon as possible."

Ino nodded, her eyes wide.

"Alright, so that's all I'll have to say today." Kakashi said cheerfully. "You don't have to eat the disgusting bentos I made, so go treat yourselves somewhere else. Tomorrow, meet me at 8 AM in this training ground again, so I can gauge all your abilities for myself." And he poofed away.

"Whoa…" Naruto said.

Ino was staring after the smoke too. Her sensei was so cool!

Sasuke, however, had started to turn away and leave.

"Sasuke!" Ino shouted.

He didn't say a word, simply stopped.

"You want to go to Ichiraku's with me and Naruto?" She asked.

There was a silence. Then—"No."

"Ah…I was hoping you wouldn't say that," Ino said sadly. "Looks like I'll have to do this, then. I was hoping for some team bonding." And she opened her mouth, and—

"AGHHHHHHHHHH!" She screamed/shrieked, popping Sasuke's eardrums.

"Okay, okay!" He said hastily, and Ino shut up. "I'll go with you guys…just never do that again, you hear?"

"Okay!" Ino said cheerfully. "Come on, let's go!"

Naruto whooped. "You really are awesome, Ino-chan!" He said gleefully. "Let's go!"

And he took her hand and she took Sasuke's—they really were a team now. Time for bonding at Ichiraku's.

**Okay, so how was that as a long chapter? Reviews are cuddled by me, of course, and this time you all get cupcakes if you review! Or else, I'll make you wear weights and run 500 laps around Konoha.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: Masashi Kishimoto isn't a girl.**

_**A/N: This will be a fluffy chapter! Of course, as I plan to go into the Zabuza/Haku Arc in the next chapter, this will be some sweetness to ease out all the intensity in the later chapters.**_

_**Thank you as always, The Hunter of Artemis, Ino Yamanaka-chan, Ino2613, jj, Kukirew, and SasuIno (welcome back)! Your reviews bolster me to keep writing! *Hugs all reviews* Readers who've stuck with me all this time, keep reviewing! New people, don't be shy!**_

_**Specific A/N:**_

_**To jj: LOL, hopefully you can read this chapter and review without delaying your homework! And you may have a cupcake, with all toppings and flavors you want. Oh, and where did ByakuganHyuuga360 go? **_

_**To Kukirew: Here is a "bento" scene! Hopefully this one will make up for the one missing from the last chapter.**_

_**To SasuIno: Wow, thank you so much! Hopefully you'll like this update as well!**_

**Chapter 4: Picnic**

Ino lay on the ground, gasping and wheezing from exertion. Sweat trickled down her normally pale face, which was now red. Her perfectly styled ponytail and bangs were a frizzy mess, and Ino couldn't have felt more tired in her life. It was hard to believe that only yesterday she had passed the bell test with Naruto and Sasuke. The workout Kakashi-sensei had given them today seemed to take forever, and it was extremely, extremely, tiring. The ninjutsu and genjutsu parts hadn't been so bad, but the taijutsu…

Sasuke was on his feet, having recovered and was doing push-ups again. Naruto, not to be outdone, leapt up and joined him. Both boys locked eyes in a furious glare, and started to do double the amount of pushups in the same time.

Ino groaned. Where did the boys get all this energy? She couldn't lift a finger to save her life at the moment.

"Are you at your limit?" Kakashi-sensei was peering over her.

"Ugh…" Ino managed.

"I guess so then." He straightened up. "Alright, guys, we're done."

The two boys looked up. "But sensei, I'm not tired!" Naruto whined.

Ino shot him a death glare. Did this boy have unlimited stamina or what?

"No, that's okay. Just come." Kakashi-sensei said, and Ino mentally thanked Kami.

Sasuke stood up and made his way over, and Naruto grudgingly did too.

"I was able to gauge your strong and weak points as you did the workout," Kakashi said calmly. "It is essential that we understand each other as a team, and make up for each other's weak spots." The Genins all nodded.

"Let's make ourselves comfortable. Sit on the patch of grass there."

Once everyone was assembled, Kakashi resumed speaking.

"First, let's start with Naruto's strong and weak points. Naruto has many weak points…"

Ino listened as Kakashi-sensei bluntly told Naruto that his only redeeming point was his stamina and huge chakra supply, while his taijutsu, hand seals, chakra control, and genjutsu, sucked. Ino winced. Kakashi-sensei was being very harsh, wasn't he?

But Naruto's eyes, instead of getting downcast, were strong and full of fire, and Ino could tell he was getting pumped up. She almost smiled—what a determined kid.

"But," Kakashi-sensei continued. "I'll make sure to work with you to improve you—they didn't teach you much at the Academy, did they?"

Naruto mutely shook his head.

Ino was confused? Of course they taught a lot at Academy…probably because Naruto skipped class, that was why he didn't learn much.

As Kakashi-sensei moved on to talk about Sasuke, Ino's chanced a look at Naruto, and saw that he had a rather downcast expression on his face. She was confused—what was he so sad about? He was only happy a few minutes ago until Kakashi-sensei had mentioned he hadn't learned much at Academy…she mused. Something was wrong, but she didn't know what.

"WHAT?"

Ino blinked, jerked rudely out of her thoughts as Naruto pointed an enraged finger at Sasuke. "What do you mean, his only weak spots are genjutsu and chakra control?"

Ino stifled a laugh as Sasuke seemed to insult Naruto, and Naruto yelled and pounced on him. _Boys…_she thought, shaking her head.

"Hai, hai…" Kakashi sighed as he pulled the two boys apart. "So now, let's talk about Ino." All eyes turned to her.

"Ino has the least strength out of all of you. That's why she gets tired before you guys do."

Ino hung her head.

"She can hardly do a pull-up, despite the fact that she's as a light as a feather." Kakashi's eye crinkled in amusement.

"Hehe, looks like all that dieting was for nothing—ITE!" Naruto started to say gleefully, but swiftly got punched into the nearest wall by a fuming Ino.

"Ino's taijutsu is also lacking. She needs to pack more power into her punch, and she wouldn't do well in hand-to-hand combat."

_So, basically, I'm weak, huh?_

"However, Ino is still very well-rounded. Her ninjutsu and genjutsu are proficient, and she has very good chakra control. Her stamina is almost on par with Sasuke's, as we've seen from the laps she's run, though this is probably because of her weight. So, her biggest problem is her strength."

Ino nodded. This was true. She'd only been average in taijutsu in the class, while she excelled in everything else.

"Everything remember their faults and good points?"

Nod, nod, nod.

"Alright, so I think this satisfies my daily quota of hard work per day." Kakashi said cheerfully. "You guys may leave now. We'll have our first mission starting tomorrow. Be here at eight."

All three Genin surveyed their sensei. Hard work? He'd barely done anything compared to them. But Naruto's face split into a wide smile. "Mission!" He crowed, belting out of the training ground, though he had been sulking only a second before. Sasuke gathered up his kunai and jogged out of the training ground.

"Oh, and Ino, stay behind. I need to talk to you for a minute."

Ino stopped, twirling her hair.

"Ano…" Kakashi-sensei looked rather embarrassed. "Give your dad a good word for me, alright?"

"Huh?"

Kakashi-sensei sighed. "Just do it, okay? Today, I spent a lot of time training you guys, so…"

"Tell me why."

Kakashi was turning red. "Inoichi came to my house yesterday after your test, and demanded with a kunai to my throat that I train you to be a true kunoichi and…er, not let you be contaminated by my "lecherous ways"."

Ino clutched her side, gasping for breath as she laughed. "Are you serious? Oh, Daddy's being so overprotective again…"

"It's not funny!" Kakashi looked miffed. "Your father is a very important shinobi, so I felt rather…"

Ino looked her sensei over. "Geez, you got scared by him? You really are an old man, Kakashi-sensei." And laughing, she bounded away.

Kakashi stood there, looking exasperated. "I didn't tell her he threatened to castrate me as well…"

The next few weeks flew, in Ino's opinion. Kakashi-sensei really did seem scared of her dad, and was now training the three Genin vigorously in the morning (he was only about an hour late nowadays to 8 AM practice), and going on missions with them in the afternoon. Naruto was steadily improving his taijutsu, and Sasuke was quite proficient at genjutsu by now. Ino was slowly but steadily gaining strength, but she was still frustrated. The boys usually did twice as many push-ups and sit-ups as she did, and while she could do the same number of laps that they did, she was much slower.

_Why am I so weak? _She wondered, brushing her bangs out of her eyes for the last time as she ate lunch in the midday sun. But still, she smiled as she recollected her memories of the missions for the last few weeks. She'd really gotten to know Naruto and Sasuke even as they chased after Tora the cat (she felt bad for the poor creature, she really did) and considered them just as much as friends as some of her old girlfriends.

"Okay, today, we'll be helping a woman pick her weeds," Kakashi announced.

"WHAT?" Naruto looked disappointed. "Why can't we get a real mission for once?"

"You'll get one soon," Kakashi assured him. "And anyways, it'll be our last mission before the Genin Celebration tomorrow."

"Genin Celebration?" Ino echoed. "What is it?"

"The Academy graduates who made it to Genin will have a free day tomorrow where you guys can all talk and catch up in a picnic, and there are races and things where the teams compete against each other…"

"YEAH!"

Sasuke and Naruto turned around, wincing and plugging their ears as Ino suddenly had flames burning in her eyes and whooped for joy. "I'll beat Forehead for sure!"

The three males of the team sweatdropped.

"So, anyways…" Kakashi continued. "The event starts at 12:00 PM and lasts till 12:00 AM because we'll be stargazing…" he sighed, apparently disgusted that he had to waste perfectly good nighttime for something like stargazing when he could be reading Icha Icha Paradise.

Unfortunately, Ino seemed to pick up on his thoughts. "We'll stay there the whole time!" She growled, staring the other three down until they cowered (even Sasuke, who pretended not to be affected). Naruto, however, was attempting to placate her—"Of course we will, Ino-chan!" He assured, making her smile. Sasuke snorted and moodily shoved his hands into his pockets.

"You'll have to bring your own food for the picnic, though…" Kakashi yawned.

"ALRIGHT!" Ino was pumping her fist in the air. "I'll make the most delicious food!"

"YEAH!" Naruto joined in.

Sasuke and Kakashi looked at each other, as if to say "Kami help us".

Ino bounded home that day, humming with joy. She loved social events, especially when she got to compete against Forehead.

"Ino?" Her mom was looking at her in concern. "You just got home, but you don't look tired at all…are you okay?"

"Hm? Yeah, of course I am! Listen, could you help me cook? Tomorrow's the picnic…!"

Her mother looked ecstatic. "I never thought I'd see the day when my daughter asks to cook with me…!" She squealed. "Come on, Ino!"

And both females raced into the kitchen, talking excitedly about what to make. When Inoichi got home a few hours later, he found himself rejected both by his Princess and his Queen, who both waved him off with distracted looks.

Twelve hours later, Ino was hunched over a checklist.

"Miso soup…" Check.

"Salad…" Check.

"Takoyaki…" Ino smiled hugely. Takoyaki was probably the most delicious thing ever, a delicious dumpling with fried or grilled octopus. She was bringing a full container for the boys (of course she couldn't eat all that fat!). Check.

And at last, she gazed lovingly at her surprises…she wondered how Sasuke would react to such a thing. Giggling, she checked that off too.

Making sure she had everything, including the floral print tablecloth, she bounded off with her bento and her bag, calling "I'm going!" as she went.

Ino skipped down the neighborhood, grinning as she went. Today was the day of the picnic! She didn't even notice Sakura walking as well.

"Hi Sasuke!" Ino practically shrieked as she finally got into the field beneath the Hokage monument.

He surveyed her with a disgruntled look. Ino noticed that all he brought was a small bento and some utensils.

She clucked, and waited for her blond friend to come.

"Ino-chan!" Naruto bounded into the field, grinning from ear-to-ear.

"Hello, Naruto." She smiled at him. But then her eyes clouded.

"Ne, ne, I hope Kakashi-sensei won't be late…" Ino said anxiously. "The first race is the sensei with one of their students."

"He won't disappoint us." Surprisingly, Sasuke reassured her. "He knows when to be late and when not to."

And Kakashi-sensei did turn up 15 minutes later, carrying a bento box of his own.

Ino let out her breath in relief. Even Kakashi-sensei was five minutes early! Smiling, she jogged over to Asuma-san's team. Sakura's eyes narrowed at her approach.

"Hey, Shikamaru!" She said affectionately, rubbing the spiky-haired boy's head.

"Ino…" he didn't shake her off, only looked up to the sky for solace.

"Chouji!" She tackled the other boy, who remained standing, munching on his chips.

"Ino?" Asuma-san was looking confused down at her. "Not that I mind you being here, but…"

"Hey, I just came by to drop a hello," she winked at Shikamaru, who turned slightly pink. Chouji chuckled behind his chips.

Sasuke came up behind her. "Ino, the race will start soon. I thought you wanted to be the person to go?" He sounded slightly bored and annoyed.

"S-Sasuke-kun!" Sakura, who had been stoically avoiding Ino the whole time, suddenly stood up.

"Come on, Sasuke," Ino said briskly, walking off. He followed her, and Sakura's green eyes looked dismal as she watched them go.

"Welcome, new Genin!" The old Hokage was looking down at them. "Before your careers as shinobi start, we'd like you to enjoy a day as a child once more."

Naruto and Kiba grinned.

"We shall have races down the field today and a picnic, and the first race will start in a few minutes. This race will be the sensei with a Genin. The Genin will sit on top of the sensei's shoulders, and the sensei will run down the field and back as fast as they can."

He stepped down from the microphone.

"Okay, I have to be the one to do this," Ino declared at once as the teams gathered once again.

Kakashi looked a bit uncomfortable. "I'd be happier if it was one of the boys…" he attempted to say.

"Are you saying I'm heavy?" Ino screeched, and Naruto quickly turned his laugh to a cough when Ino turned the glare of death (copyrighted by Sasuke, by the way) onto him.

"No…" Kakashi sighed. He looked to the boys for help. For Kami's sake, they knew he was a pervert, and if Inoichi saw Ino riding on top of him…

"Do it, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto cheered.

"She's the lightest out of all of us." Sasuke said.

Kakashi found no way out of it. Sighing, he accompanied Ino to the start line. They waited for a few minutes, until a man with dark glasses came striding along.

"Ready?" Now Ebisu (according to his nametag) was by the phone.

"Set, Go!" Ebisu yelled for all his worth.

Kakashi took off. Next to him, Asuma was going at the same furious pace, cigarette in mouth, with Sakura on his shoulders.

Kakashi thought longingly of his Icha Icha. Why couldn't the Genin just do this by themselves?

Kakashi looked up, he was about to make his turn now-and stopped altogether. It couldn't be. No, it couldn't. In front of him, ten yards away, was Rei Tsukuyomi, the super sexy and deadly antagonist of the Icha Icha series, wearing hardly anything at all. Her skimpy two piece bikini revealed almost everything, and she tossed her dark hair back luxuriously as she winked at him.

Next to him, Asuma had been blown backwards by the force of his nosebleed. Sakura was screaming in indignation.

Kakashi stood there, knees wobbly, an idiotic smile on his face as blood trickled from the corners of his nose.

"KAKASHI-SENSEI!" Ino was screeching at him, but he was wobbling back and forth. "MOVE!"

"Winner, Team Kurenai!" Ebisu was pompously announcing as he secretly undressed Kurenai with his eyes, which were hidden behind his glasses.

"We did it, Hinata!" Kurenai said happily to Hinata, and the dark-haired girl blushed as she was set down.

Rei Tsukuyomi disappeared, and Asuma stirred from his position on the ground.

"I should've known," Kakashi sighed. "Kurenai would use genjutsu against us, her fellow Jounin! I guess she didn't want to be known as the weak one among us…"

Asuma groaned, and Sakura, thrown behind him, fumed.

"You pervert." Naruto said with steam pouring out of his ears as Kakashi made his way back with Ino.

Sasuke eyed his sensei flatly, but said no more.

"Next race, tire race…!"

Two hours passes very quickly—now the scores were 4 for Team Kakashi, 4 for Team Asuma, and 5 for Team Kurenai.

"Ino-pig, you cheated during that tire race!" Sakura was screeching, her perfectly smooth pink hair bristling with indignation. "You used your Mind Transfer Jutsu on Chouji!"

Ino grinned smugly. "He's strong, isn't he? Using his strength, I pulled your tire backwards and even Asuma-san couldn't counter that!"

Sakura looked outraged. "Y-you…I won't lose to you, Ino-pig!"

Meanwhile, Naruto was howling at Kiba. "You cheated during the ring race, I saw you! You went down on all fours!

Kiba was smirking at him. "I bet you can't do that, dead-last! My jutsu makes me go much faster than you ever could, and on all fours too."

Naruto had steam pouring out of his ears again. "Why you…!"

Shino, however, was glaring at Kiba (though it was hard to tell because you could see so little of his face) as well. "You overbalanced our balloons during the balloon race because you were too overconfident—we could've gotten a point, but you let Uzumaki's team take it instead." Kiba glared back.

Hinata sighed. "A-ano…" she said to the two quarreling boys of her team, and they shut up immediately.

Chouji, Shikamaru, and Sasuke seemed to be the only people who weren't yelling at each other because of the races.

"Okay, okay!" Ebisu's pompous voice echoed over the field. "We'll have an intermission in the races now, and we'll start our picnic!"

"Hooray!" Naruto and Kiba shouted, and once they realized that, they quickly glared at each other.

Ino quickly dragged the three guys over to a nice spot on the hill with a bunch of wildflowers, and spread her tablecloth over the grass.

"Naruto?" She asked, and Naruto produced a bright orange umbrella, grinning.

She sighed, though it was with affection, and propped it up. Then, she picked a few wildflowers and stuck them into the vase she'd brought artfully.

Sasuke and Kakashi sweatdropped as the two other members of their team fussed over the food and the decorations.

"Itadakimasu!" Ino and Naruto cried, and Sasuke and Kakashi followed as well, albeit with more reserved voices.

Ino quickly ate her salad and her miso soup, and waited for the others to finish.

She sweatdropped as she realized that Naruto had brought six cups of instant ramen for himself.

"Hey, Ino-chan…" Naruto said between mouthfuls. "You didn't eat anything, really!"

"I agree as well." Sasuke said.

"No, this is more than I usually eat…" Ino said, puzzled.

"You're starving yourself." Kakashi-sensei said matter-of-factly, and continued eating.

"No, I'm not!" She argued. Geez, didn't they understand that a girl needed to diet?

"Here." Sasuke took out his sushi. "Eat some of this."

"Oh no, I couldn't…" Ino attempted to protest as she saw the wonderfully fresh, glistening sushi.

"Eat it." Sasuke's voice held no patience for arguments.

"Sasuke…" she sighed, rolling her eyes. "Alright." She took the sushi gently, and using her chopsticks, picked them up and smeared them in a little wasabi.

"Arigato, Sasuke." She smiled at him.

"I don't want my teammate constantly having no energy." Sasuke said in a monotone.

She rolled eyes again, still smiling. "I guess I'll bring out the takoyaki for you guys…" she said, taking out the container of the round dumplings.

"Whoa!" Naruto looked ecstatic. "That smells delicious, Ino-chan!" He pried the container open, and quickly took a few dumplings out.

"Mmm…" he had an expression of ecstasy on his face. "Hey, I might like this even better than ramen! You should cook for me more often, Ino-chan!"

"Thanks," she said, grinning. "But my mom helped me make those…"

Sasuke butted into their conversation just then, looking disgruntled. "You should have better manners than to simply take a few, Naruto."

"Hmph!" Naruto glared at him.

"Take one, Sasuke!" Ino encouraged, smiling at the raven-haired youth.

"No thanks. I don't like sweets."

"Take one!" This time, Ino's voice held no patience for arguments.

He glared at her, and then plucked one with his chopsticks, and chewed.

"How are they?" Ino asked.

"…They're okay."

Ino grinned. Sasuke liked them! Mission: Get Sasuke to Eat Sweets was successful!

Sasuke looked away, but she could see him still chewing vigorously.

"You eat some too, sensei!" Ino told Kakashi.

"Sure." He said, taking one. "Mmm…it is good. Reminds me of…"

"Reminds you of?"

"It's nothing." Kakashi-sensei looked away.

Ino frowned. She felt the festive mood starting to go away, so she quickly took out her other container. "I have a surprise for you all!" She sang.

Sasuke looked apprehensive, while Naruto looked excited. Carefully, she opened her container, and held the bento out for everyone to see.

"Sugoi, Ino-chan!" Naruto said excitedly. "Is that me?"

Ino had made onigiri, though with her teammates and sensei's faces on them. Naruto was pointing at the only blond one in the group.

"Yep!"

Naruto took it out carefully, eyeing it. His onigiri had a piece of spiky piece of nori seaweed covered with thick miso paste on top of it, as well as a few blue sprinkles for eyes. "Thank you, Ino-chan!"

Kakashi-sensei took his as well with a happy crinkly eye. He didn't seem to mind that his piece of onigiri's hair had been made by a piece of white sushi and had been squashed and that his piece of nori seaweed for a mask had almost fallen off.

"Sasuke?" Ino surveyed her last teammate with concern. Did he like it?

Slowly, he took his, and looked at the carefully cut nori seaweed on top for hair and the two black beans for eyes.

"Itadakimasu." He said quietly, and when he looked up at Ino, she could see a tiny, rare, smile on his face. "You should eat some of your takoyaki as well."

"Oh, I shouldn't—"

"Ino."

"Oh, alright." She said, huffing a bit, but smiling in her head. She and her teammates truly cared about each other now.

Soon, the picnic and the races were over, and the scores were 9 for Team Kakashi, 11 for Team Kurenai, and 8 for Team Asuma. "Ah…" Ino said, stretching luxuriously. "That was fun."

"Yeah it was, dattebayo!" Naruto agreed enthusiastically. The last race had been particularly fun, where participants had to balance cups of water on their heads and run to their sensei on the opposite side of the field to fill up the bucket at their sensei's feet. Team Kurenai had won that one, because Kiba had Akamaru help him balance (somehow that wasn't illegal) Shino had bugs swarming around his head, and Hinata, as a Hyuuga, had naturally delicate and balanced steps.

"Mmm, what will we do now, Kakashi-sensei?" Ino inquired.

"We'll set up camp here, and you can all chat with your friends and we sensei will chat as well. Be back at nine 'o clock, though, because we'll start a campfire and start stargazing around 10:30."

"Sounds good." Ino said, content, lying back. "I think I'll go visit Team 8 and Team 10."

"I'll come with you!" Naruto jumped up. "I need to talk to Kiba-teme!"

"I'll come too." Sasuke said. "It's a good way to analyze how the other teams are doing."

"You won't fool me with that." Ino scoffed. "You just want to spend some free time with your team."

Sasuke glared at her, but then his gaze softened. "Hm. Maybe."

And the three strolled off, while Kakashi-sensei watched them with a smile behind them.

That night, all three of them were sprawled on top of their little hill, all of them watching the unexpected meteor shower. The four of them had made a circle, Ino, Sasuke, Naruto, and Kakashi. Although Naruto's smile was widest, Ino's was the most content, Sasuke's the most peaceful, and Kakashi's the most protective. Yes, they were a team now. And Ino didn't intend that to change. Ever.

_**This chapter was so much fun to write! Some fluffiness, but not enough to rot my teeth. And also, much longer than I anticipated! 12 pages long! Of course, I'll beg you to review with some takoyaki and onigiri, delicious Japanese treats. But I hope you guys will review also out of the goodness of your hearts because that makes me happy enough to move on to Haku/Zabuza. **_

_**FAQ (Questions I've anticipated):**_

_**Q: Why is Ino so happy?**_

_**A: She's always been self-confident and cheerful, so I figure she'd be like Naruto.**_

_**Q: Does Sasuke like Ino?**_

_**A: Maybe. But right now, it's mainly friendship, though you can see hints of SasuIno.**_

_**Q: Shikamaru and Ino?**_

_**A: One of them has a slight crush.**_

_**Q: When will NaruHina come in?**_

_**A: It'll come in the Chuunin Exams.**_

_**Q: How come you made Ino have so much stamina and Naruto so weak?**_

_**A: I checked the stats on Narutopedia, so I didn't make that up.**_

_**Q: What did the takoyaki remind Kakashi of?**_

_**A: Rin's old cooking.**_

_**Q: Nori seawood and miso paste?**_

_**A: Nori seaweed is the thin sheets of seaweed kids like to eat and is found in practically every Asian store. You may have heard of miso soup, and it is made of fermented soybean paste.**_

_**Q: Was this really in the manga or anime?**_

_**A: I saw flashbacks of this in the anime (stargazing and a picnic) so I though I'd include this fun chapter.**_

_**Any other questions? Feel free to ask me in a review or a PM!**_

_**Japanese Vocabulary:**_

_**Hai: Yes**_

_**Ite: Ouch**_

_**Ano: Um**_

_**Bento: Lunch box**_

_**Ne, ne: Hey, hey**_

_**Itadakimasu: Let's eat**_

_**Sugoi: Wow (Amazing!)  
**_

_**Teme: You bastard**_


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Naruto, why don't you tell them?**

**Naruto: She doesn't own this! Now get on with it! I wanna go on my C-rank!**

_**Much gratitude to my awesome reviewers The Hunter of Artemis, SasuIno, Ino2613, Ino Yamanaka-chan, KukiRew, x-GaaIno-x-For-Life-x, jj, Kurtulmak! Also a huge hug for my new reviewer, SasukesBiggestFan! And I'm really sorry, tanarose! Hopefully you'll like this update.**_

_**Anon Review Replies**_

_**jj: Thanks so much! That's such a cool coincidence, haha! And no, your reviews are awesome because they're long! **_

_**SasuIno: Thank you! ^^ I wish Ino could have her reverse-harem, but lucky Hinata's getting Naruto.**_

Chapter 5: Enter! The Land of Waves!

"Hey, is the smallest one with the idiotic face there really a ninja?" The drunk, red-faced, man asked the Hokage, swaying slightly.

Ino's jaw dropped. Of course she hadn't been expecting a princess or a feudal lord, but this man didn't exactly look important enough to escort. This was her first C-rank mission (courtesy of Naruto's begging) and she had to escort a _drunk_? And was he staring at _her?_

"WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE CALLING IDIOTIC?" Ino yelled in outrage.

"Not you…" the man said, rolling his eyes. "Him." He pointed at Naruto, who was laughing his head off.

"Oh." Ino said, pacified. She marched up to Naruto, who was now apoplectic with rage. "But I'm the smallest one! I'm the skinniest!"

Kakashi-sensei looked rather embarrassed. "He means your height, Ino."

"…Oh."

"Geez, women." The man grumbled. "Always so quick to assume."

Ino flushed.

Later in the day, all of them were carrying small packs as they escorted the bridge builder, Tazuna. Ino listened idly as Kakashi-sensei described the shinobi nations, and she sidestepped a small puddle on the ground.

Birds chirped and the trees swayed. Nothing could be more perfect, Ino thought.

Behind them, a figure arose from the puddle.

"What the—"

Kakashi gasped as he was bound by chains.

"First one." The two, sadistic-looking, ninja said, smirking. And Kakashi-sensei was torn to shreds before their very eyes.

Ino was frozen. Never had she expected to encounter something like this. Hadn't Kakashi-sensei just told them that it was very unlikely to see enemy ninja? What was going on? And Kakashi-sensei…he'd just been…

She let out a slight scream as the two ninja cornered Naruto. She could tell they had no qualms about killing him. "Second one." They said, grinning.

Sasuke took off toward them, and Ino, remembering her duty, hastened to leap in front of Tazuna, who looked shell-shocked.

She watched enviously as Sasuke whipped out his shuriken and caught the chains of the enemy nin. The chains whistled and thudded into the tree, instead of Naruto. And Sasuke leaped gracefully onto the other shinobis' heads as they were held in place by their own chains. He kicked them in the head, and they were blown backwards. _Damn! _Ino thought. _Showoff!_

The enemies snorted in rage, and the chains fell to the ground. Quick as a flash, they were running around Sasuke and Naruto….straight at Ino.

Ino was already in front of Tazuna, so she quickly took out her shuriken and flung it at the enemy nin, who deflected it. _I can't fight them off with weapons! _She thought. _Only one thing to do. _"Tazuna-san, take my body and get back!" She yelled.

"Wha—?"

"Shintenshin no Jutsu!" She cried. Hopefully she could go into one of the nins' body and damage the other enemy, giving time to Sasuke and Naruto. The enemy-nin's eyes widened—he couldn't avoid it—and Ino found herself slipping into a body.

"Shit!" She yelled in Sasuke's body. Oh why oh why did he have to jump in front of her? Didn't he think she could take care of herself? She was dead now, she knew—

"Yo." Kakashi-sensei materialized in front of them, stopping both enemy nin with his arms and incapacitating them.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Ino cried joyfully, now back in her own body. Sasuke snorted. What a showoff Kakashi-sensei was.

"Naruto, sorry for not coming to help sooner—"

"WHAT THE HELL?" Ino's voice drowned out Kakashi's. She had now turned from greeting Kakashi to yelling at Sasuke. "What if Kakashi-sensei wasn't there?" She was glaring at Sasuke. "Why did you jump in front of me? I was handling it!"

He haughtily turned his head to one side. "You didn't look like you were handling it when you threw that shuriken."

"Hey-!" Ino was indignant. All her life, she was the one who spurred others to action (namely Shikamaru and Chouji) and she was the boss. And here Sasuke was, thinking she was weak and needed to be protected!

"Alright, calm down, guys." Kakashi-sensei intervened. "I need to talk to Naruto about his poisoned wound and I need to ask Tazuna-san some questions."

Naruto gulped. Ino flinched. Down Naruto's hands were long scratches…poison?

However, Sasuke was smirking. "Were you afraid, scaredy-cat?"

Naruto blanched. "Of course not!" He yelled.

Ino sighed. Boys and their rivalry. Would they ever learn? She watched the two glare at each other as Kakashi, with a very serious look on his face, told Tazuna that this mission was out of their league, at least a B-rank. _We should probably go back, _Ino thought.

"We should probably go back to the village and get Naruto's hand treated," Kakashi said.

However, it seemed that Naruto had other ideas. He took out a kunai and stabbed himself in the hand. Ino's jaw dropped. How could he do something like that to himself?

"Why am I always different?" Naruto said, his head low. "How come this happens to me? I will never do something that will need another's help! I vow that on the pain of my left hand! I'm going to protect this old man with my kunai! This mission is still on!"

"Um…" Kakashi-sensei said, with an apologetic look. "That was great and all, but you need to stop the blood flow, or you'll die."

There was a silence. Then—

"NOOO!" Naruto starting to run around the clearing. "I'M GOING TO DIE!"

That night, Naruto tended the campfire with his bandaged arm, and Ino dragged out sleeping bags. "First watch?" She asked Sasuke.

He nodded.

"Alright. Goodnight!" She said cheerily. She had forgiven Sasuke—after all, he was willing to protect her, and she was touched.

He nodded. "Sleep vigilant."

Meanwhile, Momochi Zabuza was snarling with his swordtip at Gatou's throat. "I'll make sure to kill them." He said confidently.

_A day later_

WHOOSH! Sasuke, Ino, Kakashi, Tazuna, and Naruto threw themselves to the ground as a giant sword cleaved the air where they just were.

Ino's heart clenched. The danger was palpable. She wasn't sure she would survive Day 2 of the C-rank mission. They were almost to the village of the Land of Waves, having slept in the woods the night before and gone on a rickety little boat today. Naruto had thrown a kunai at a snow-white rabbit, which she now knew was a replacement for the huge enemy ninja they were facing.

The ninja was now facing Kakashi. "I need the bridge builder."

"I'm afraid you can't have him." Kakashi's tone was pleasant, but she knew that his mind was going through strategies as he spoke.

"Oh?" The ninja wrenched his sword out of the tree. "That's too bad, then, for your little kiddies."

"HEY!" Naruto was running forward, but Kakashi's hand stopped him. "Stop. He is beyond your level. He's an exiled ninja of Kirigakure, Momochi Zabuza." Kakashi's tone was serious.

Naruto fell back, looking disappointed.

"I'll have to use this, unfortunately." Kakashi said gravely, lifting up his hitai-e. Sasuke sucked in his breath.

"Sharingan…I'm honored I can see this." Zabuza said with a mock bow to Kakashi.

"Sharingan, Sharingan…what is this eye?" Naruto said, staring at the scar on Kakashi's eyelid and the three comma-like shapes in Kakashi's eye.

Sasuke began to methodically explain. Ino watched him out of the corner of her eye. Kakashi's eye was huge news to her. As a Yamanaka clan member, her father had explained to her about the Uchiha Clan. They were one of the greatest clans in Konoha, only to be wiped out one night. They possessed the kekkai genkai*, the Sharingan, which was a very powerful tool. Ino knew that Sasuke was one of the only survivors…and she pitied him for it. But Kakashi-sensei had the Sharingan too…could he be a relative of Sasuke's?

Zabuza chuckled. "Yes, Hatake Kakashi…the Copy Ninja, who has copied over a thousand techniques. Well, let's cut the chit-chat here." In a flash, he moved.

"He's on the water!" Ino gasped.

"Ninpou: Kirigakure no Jutsu." Mist rolled in. And Ino felt as if she was locked in, separate from her teammates…with a snarling tiger that was Momochi Zabuza about to break in her mist wall any second. This mist was unnatural…she began to tremble as she felt the killing intent from the two jounins. Being a Yamanaka, she had a sense of the chakra signatures and chakra intents clearer than most Genin, and so she felt the raw danger most…she tried not to collapse as she stood guard at Tazuna's side.

Suddenly, the mist dissipated, and Ino was struck with the intense killing intent of Kakashi-sensei. She bit her lip, and slid to the ground. She saw Sasuke tremble as well, his eyes wide.

"Ino-chan?" Naruto looked oblivious, however. He was eyeing her concernedly.

"I-I…" she managed to sputter.

"Ino. Sasuke." Kakashi-sensei's quiet voice jerked her out of her thoughts. "Don't worry. I'll protect the three of you with my life. I won't let anyone die." He smiled at them with his crescent eye.

Ino relaxed. The atmosphere wasn't quite so heavy now…and she had Kakashi-sensei at her side!

"Let's see about that…" a quiet voice said. And Ino's heart stopped.

Momochi Zabuza had broken right into their little circle surrounding Tazuna—she quickly leapt away, her heart pounding, and Kakashi-sensei moved at the speed of light to intercept him from attacking the old bridge builder.

And Zabuza into disappeared into water droplets. Kakashi's eyes widened—and he was sliced in half from behind as another Zabuza smiled wickedly.

"Sensei!" Ino screamed.

And Kakashi dissipated into water droplets. Ino's jaw dropped. When had her sensei made a water clone?

"Don't move." Kakashi was holding a glinting kunai to Zabuza's throat from behind. "This is the end."

Ino and Naruto started to smile, but Zabuza simply grinned, a feral grin. "Is it the end, Kakashi?" He said quietly. "You can't defeat me with your little copying techniques…I'm one step ahead of you."

Kakashi's eyes widened as the Zabuza he was holding a kunai to dissipated, and another one behind him swung his sword at him. Kakashi ducked, and Zabuza used the opportunity to kick Kakashi squarely on the stomach, and their sensei went flying out onto the water.

"His taijutsu is superb," Sasuke said, gritting his teeth.

Ino, however, was now fearing for their doom. Her father had once shown her the bingo book, and Momochi Zabuza was one of the most dangerous ones—at least an A-class. If Kakashi-sensei had been kicked away…

Zabuza broke out into a full sprint, and landed on top of the water. Kakashi-sensei was struggling to get out of the murky water. "This water…is heavy, somehow…" he said, laboring to stand up.

"Baka." Zabuza sneered. "Suirō no Jutsu!" A water dome surrounded Kakashi, and the three Genin and Tazuna's eyes widened as their only hope, Kakashi-sensei, was trapped away. Zabuza had one hand holding Kakashi-sensei in place in the water now.

"Now…" Zabuza said. "I'll get rid you later, Kakashi. For now…Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu!"

A figure in front of the Genin emerged from water droplets, and Ino's heart stopped as she realized she was looking at another Momochi Zabuza, who was now focused on them.

The original started speaking again. "You three aren't ninja…the only time I will acknowledge you as ninja is when you appear in my bingo book." And with a slight curve of his mask that Ino knew to be a sadistic smile, he held his fingers to his lips and the mist came rolling in again. They were truly trapped now.

Ino felt a presence move on her right. With a feeling of horror, she watched as Naruto was kicked viciously, and his hitai-e fell off, only to land beneath the Zabuza clone's foot.

"Everyone!" Now Kakashi-sensei was yelling at them. "Take Tazuna-san and run! You can't win against him! He can't move as he's trapped me in this hydro-prison, and he can't use his water clone if you run! Go!"

Ino trembled in place. What should she do? What should she do?

"Run?" Now Sasuke was quietly speaking, his words flat. "When you got caught, that was no longer an option."

Ino stared at him with wide eyes. Sasuke…she knew what he was saying. She was very familiar with ninja strategy, having been in a clan…they couldn't run away…but this, this was suicide too. She swallowed. How could he have so much courage?

He moved like a flash. Throwing one, two, three, four, five, no, six shuriken, he launched himself into the air as Zabuza parried them. He aimed a downward kick at the other Jounin, but—

Zabuza's hand was clutched around his neck, holding him in the air. With one powerful fling, Sasuke was thrown, to land in a heap.

_There's no way we can take him on…_Ino thought despairingly. This is a Jounin. A real ninja. She glanced at Naruto, and saw that the blond boy was trembling, his eyes wide with fear.

_ Not that I blame him…_Ino thought. _We're going to die at this rate._

Her mouth opened as she saw Naruto stand up. And charge at the clone.

"Naruto!" She yelled. "What are you—"

Naruto was blown backwards from the force of Zabuza's punch, and Ino saw his hitai-e clutched between his fingers.

_He went to get his forehead protector…_she thought. _Amazing…Naruto, you—_

She straightened up. _Thank you, Naruto. You and Sasuke…you guys both tried to stop him…now it'll be all three of us._

"Sasuke…lend me your ear for a second." Naruto had stood up. "I have a plan."

_A plan? _Ino thought incredulously. _He thought of a plan in this situation? But more importantly, why am I not in it? Haven't they heard that the trios work best? I mean, that's why there are formations like ShikaInoCho._

Sasuke snorted, but he moved to stand next to the blond boy. Ino's eyebrow twitched. "You two! Get back here!" She yelled at them.

Sasuke looked up with an irritated look, but Naruto shrugged and moved closer.

Ino leapt up, and joined them.

"Hey, wait! Hold on a sec, Ino-chan!" Naruto was protesting. "I was telling Sasuke the plan here…"

"The plan?" Ino was growing livid. "And you thought you wouldn't include me?"

"Well, we need someone to guard the old geezer—"

"Shut up!" Ino's face was towering over Naruto's, who looked very uncomfortable. "We're close enough to Tazuna-san now, that's why I told you to come over. And I know perfectly well you can produce Kage Bunshins to guard him, so you should include me."

"But—"

"You think I'm too weak for this?" Ino roared. "I won't let you toss me away like a fragile bud!"

Naruto flinched. Sasuke's lips quirked up.

"Alright, alright!" The blond boy complained. "Geez, Ino-chan, you're scary…"

"What are you guys doing?" Their heads snapped up as Kakashi-sensei started to speak. "Run! The outcome was decided when I got caught! You have to protect Tazuna!"

The three Genin looked guiltily at Tazuna. They knew if this failed, he'd die.

The old man, however, was giving them a smile. "Don't worry! I caused all this! Fight as much as you want!"

Ino sighed a breath of relief. _Thank you, Tazuna-san. We'll show our true colors as ninja here._

Suddenly, though, Zabuza began laughing. "Such confidence coming from a kid who doesn't have a right to become a ninja…when I was your age, my hands were already soaked in blood."

Ino froze.

"The Demon of the Mist…" Kakashi-sensei said. Ino listened with a morbid fascination as she relieved the killings Kakashi-sensei was talking about in her mind…all by the man in front of her.

"Oh…that was fun." Zabuza said reminiscently. And he lowered his gaze until he was at eye level with the three Genin—and the killer intent engulfed them at that second.

He leaped with inhuman strength, an in a second, had pinned Sasuke down to the ground with his foot. "Over a hundred deaths in one day…I wish I could do that again." He slammed his foot down on Sasuke's chest, and Ino saw the pain in his eyes as blood spurted from his mouth.

"Sasuke…" she muttered.

"Why you…" Naruto was quivering in rage. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Zabuza's eyes widened as he took his foot off Sasuke and clones attacked him on all directions, piling on top of him.

_Now! _Ino thought. The plan was already in progress. The real Naruto nodded at her, and he sprinted to guard Tazuna. She sprinted toward the real Zabuza and Kakashi-sensei, and once she was beyond the struggling clones and the clone Zabuza, she cried—

"Shintenshin no Jutsu!" The real Zabuza's eyes widened, and she found her spirit racing forward. _Sasuke, please guard my body._

Zabuza's eyes widened. _It's that Yamanaka clan technique from the bingo book! _He swore in his mind. Reluctantly, he took his arm out of the prison, and leaped away. He knew that the jutsu, though slow, had an invisible spirit traveling through the air, and the spirit took as much space as the user. And he could most certainly not leap over a jutsu the size of the girl casting it at him.

Ino's spirit sighed in relief. Plan: Successful. It would take a while to maneuver back to her own body, though. She watched detachedly as Sasuke threw his giant shuriken at Zabuza—the man received a sharp cut on an arm because he didn't see the second one in time. Now, it was up to Kakashi-sensei to defeat the exiled ninja.

She watched in a sort of groggy amazement at the battle that happened next as she floated back to her body. Kakashi-sensei tricked Zabuza with his Sharingan, executing several water moves, and eventually nearly drowning Zabuza. Kakashi-sensei then was about to kill the former mist-nin, but another masked person appeared. She wasn't too clear on the details, but the masked person killed Zabuza and took him with them.

When she returned to her own body, she realized with a shock that the masked person was only a ninja not much older than herself—and yet he or she was already a hunter-nin.

"Wow…" she said as she watched them leave. Naruto, however, was livid.

"Why is he so strong?" Naruto moaned.

Kakashi-sensei coughed. "There are many sights in the world…and there are kids your age out there that are stronger than me. Let's go."

Ino gaped in amazement. Kids their age stronger than Kakashi-sensei? She found that hard to believe. Naruto, however, looked terribly disappointed and she thought she could see tears in his eyes.

_Naruto…_she thought. _He wants to be the Hokage, the best ninja in the village. Hearing this crushes him._

"Don't worry, Naruto!" She said cheerily. "You're a great ninja!"

And as he smiled at her, and Sasuke scowled, she couldn't help but think—why are my dreams so small?

_**Ooh…sorry if that seemed rushed or that the fight scenes sucked. It might have seemed rushed because I skipped over Kakashi's fight, etc, but I didn't want to retell the whole fight over again. Also, I stink at writing fight scenes. **_

_**On a happier note, here you can see that Ino is more self-confident than Sakura, and so her skills can come to good use. In the Forest of Death, when she was hiding from Neji, I felt that it wasn't her style—rather, Shikamaru must've planned that part. However, you do see her pondering at the end…does this mean change for Ino? **___

_**Next chapter will be the rest of the Zabuza/Haku Arc. Look forward to it!**_

_**Last note: Please Review! I'll give you pie!**_


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Oh dear. I lost my writing muse for Naruto, and school took over my time. My deepest apologies for my delayed update! However, I bring with the delay a new format for the author's note which isn't so hard on the eyes, and…  
SHORTER CHAPTERS!  
*cues clapping*  
I have a feeling you just booed me there. Now why would you do that? Oh! I forgot my detail! I'll update faster this way. Honestly. Now clap?  
Okay, I won't keep you much longer. Much thanks to my AWESOME reviewers, Silva Bramley, jj (sharinganeye772 ftw!), The Hunter of Artemis, Sasukesbiggestfan, One Person (is there two of you, or just one? O.O), Lady Serebi, Puxie, KukiRew, almostinsane, One Person, SilentStar-009, Epimeliad, rawrx (arigatou gozaimasu! :D), and x-GaaIno-x-For-Life-x!  
One Person (?) are you the same person: So many fanfictions have the girls as weak -.-. Awesome that we have the same idea *e-five*!

**xxx**

Ino wished Kakashi-sensei had fainted longer. The words he was speaking sounded very unappetizing.

"So…we have about one week before we might meet Zabuza and his accomplice again. Let's train."

_Let's train? _Ino raged. What kind of assurance was that? Kakashi-sensei had just told them right after he woke up after fainting from excessive Sharingan usage that Zabuza was still alive. Because that _kid _had helped him. And that it would take a week for Zabuza to recover, and that they would now have to train before battling for their lives once again.

Naruto and Sasuke, however, looked positively ecstatic about training. Ino's vein throbbed. _Wonderful. They don't think about their lives at all. And I might stink at this training if it's taijutsu._

"Let's go." Kakashi said briskly, standing up.

Tsunami, Tazuna's daughter, started to protest, saying that he shouldn't overexert himself, but Kakashi merely waved a hand. "Don't worry." He assured her. Tsunami hesitated, and sat back down. Ino only wished that she, herself, could be reassured like that.

She followed, the third member trailing after the two boys, into the forest, and Kakashi-sensei stopped. "Here we are. Training takes place here. Your goal is to walk up these trees."

Naruto gaped. "Walk up trees? You must be kidding, Kakashi-sensei!"

Kakashi-sensei rolled his eyes to heaven, and calmly sent Chakra to his feet to walk up the 90-degree angle tree. Ino knew the concept, but she had never tried it before. And she had to admit, it looked pretty cool.

"Alright, so you all try it. Concentrate Chakra to your feet, and make sure it isn't too little or too much when you walk up. You may want to give yourself a running start in the beginning. Mark the spot where you get up to each time you try. This will work on your chakra control.

The three Genin nodded seriously.

"Ready? Now concentrate."

Ino closed her eyes. She breathed deeply in and out, and tried to find her chakra core. Sakura had always been better at that. She envisioned the chakra shooting down…down…it was hard getting it past the belly button, but easier as she went down her legs…finally, she felt the energy thrumming at her feet.

Naruto leapt forward with a war whoop and ran up two steps, only to fall miserably backwards.

Ino tried her best not to lose her concentration by laughing. Next to her, Sasuke smirked slightly.

He ran up as well, and made eight steps before losing grip, and he slashed a mark on the tree with his kunai.

Energy…energy…Ino ran forward as well, making sure to push off the tree with light chakra bursts, and she felt confident—she had sixteen steps—

And fell with a strangled cry. She closed her eyes tightly, anticipating the fall-damn, this was not how she wanted to get injured.

And promptly was pinned to a tree by Sasuke's kunai.

Ino dangled from the tree, feeling slightly dizzy as she stared at the kunai a mere centimeter from her neck, cutting through the fabric of her high collar and pinning her to the tree.

She wrenched it out, did a front flip, and landed gracefully. Then, she stalked over to Sasuke, and deposited the kunai roughly in his hands, burning with shame and rage with having to be saved like that.

Even worse, he had the gall to pin her so near the neck when clearly, there was more room and he just wanted to show off-and pinning her high collar no less, which was not only could choke her, but also was the most expensive part of her outfit!

"What are you being so ungrateful for?" Sasuke asked, sounding bored.

She stomped away. How could he not know? Of course he had to bet her life to _show off, that creep!_

"Ino."

His voice stopped her in her tracks.

"What?" She hissed.

There was a silence. Then Kakashi-sensei piped up cheerfully. "She's PMS-ing, Sasuke!"

Ino whirled around, her face burning-she was, in fact, PMS-ing, and how the hell Kakashi-sensei knew (or guessed) she didn't know, and he just HAD to say that out loud, didn't he?

Sasuke simply looked annoyed.

"I was about to say..." he said pointedly, glaring at Kakashi-sensei. "You go away. She needs to understand something."

"Alright!" The man said utterly cheerfully, and bounded away.

Ino swallowed. Had the mood suddenly just become darker?

Sasuke was positively _glaring _at her. She stared back defiantly, trying to hold her gaze. Geez. Were all Uchiha boys so...emo?

"You..." he started. "Need to snap out of this."

"Snap out-"

"Had I not saved you, you would've landed in a position which could possibly cripple you for life. I doubt Kakashi-sensei would've saved you, as he's currently reading that book of his. You should be grateful to me right now, as well as harsher to yourself. You still aren't as strong as either me, or even Naruto, because you just don't have the motivation. Instead of blaming me, you should look to yourself. And constantly wearing those clothes? That's just annoying."

Ino gaped at him. He just stood there, his hands in his pockets, scowling at her. Her hands trembled at her sides. How _dare _he say that, how _dare _he say that to her?

Resentment and anger flared up in her, and she opened her mouth to say a snapping retort back, but then suddenly an overwhelming feeling of shame welled up in her, drowning the anger. Sasuke was right, of course…she was still weak. She shouldn't have been needed to be saved like that. She closed her mouth, and abruptly turned away.

And ran, tears obstructing her view. Naruto looked confused as he watched her run, but Kakashi's eye crinkled knowingly as he watched her.  
Sasuke's eyes burned with frustration as he stared after her.

**xxx**

I know. I'm cruel! Leaving you with such a short chapter and a cliffie no less. Don't worry, hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to pop out another chapter! YOSH! And to why Sasuke is so disagreeable in this chapter...remember how he hates weakness right now? He cares for Ino, and simply wants her to be the funny, witty, girl she really is instead of being vain and silly. But of course, he's blunt. Sasuke=bluntness. Ah well, that can't be helped. Stay tuned for Chapter 7!


	7. Chapter 7

**OMIGOSH I beg your humble forgiveness!**

**Yes, I'm back to bold.**

**Anyways, another long wait for you guys…argh, so sorry! (Though, I probably would have procrastinated even longer without the reviews…)**

**For this chapter, Haku will make an appearance (yay!) but will be addressed as a girl, as Ino thinks Haku is a girl.**

**Soo, let's give an ovation to sharinganeye272 (3 awesome reviews), SasuIno, too lazy to log in (I love your review ahaha), x-GaaIno-x-For-Life-x, Blachkx-Ice, Sephiroth owns you all, Ino2613 (I'm scared…o.o), The Hunter of Artemis, Sasukesbiggestfan, AlmightySteelShoe (your name=epic win), SilentStar-009, Mariokutai-Reincarnated, -.-honeydew7-.-, and mah wonderful DreamerAoi. **

_Last chapter: _

_Resentment and anger flared up in her, and she opened her mouth to say a snapping retort back, but then suddenly an overwhelming feeling of shame welled up in her, drowning the anger. Sasuke was right, of course…she was still weak. She shouldn't have been needed to be saved like that. She closed her mouth, and abruptly turned away._

_And ran, tears obstructing her view. Naruto looked confused as he watched her run, but Kakashi's eye crinkled knowingly as he watched her.  
Sasuke's eyes burned with frustration as he stared after her._

Chapter 6: Realizations

Ino didn't know how long she sat there. Her back to the trees, her stomach aching from the bandages tightly wrapped around it, her bare arms freezing. Luckily, none of her teammates or Kakashi-sensei had to come to fetch her back. She didn't want them to see her tears.

She slumped down, knowing that she probably looked terrible. Her face was probably blotchy red, and her nose most likely reminiscent of Rudolph the Reindeer. Strands of hair blew across her face. She tucked it behind her ear.

_I wonder if I'm really fit to be a kunoichi. _She thought miserably. She had thought being a kunoichi was easy—she had always been good at everything in the classes. But honestly, what use was she? She wasn't like Naruto, and she envied him for his determination and his ability to plow through life. She wasn't like Sasuke, with his intellect, his cool-headedness, and natural leadership. She knew she was the tag-along of the team, and it made her sick to think about it. Hell, by Kakashi-sensei's age, she'd be lucky to have a quarter of his skill.

She sat there feeling depressed for a time, the cold steadily seeping into her bones. Twilight approached, and shadows lengthened. She didn't want to get up. Getting up meant facing her teammates again and now she knew what they really thought of her. Weak. Pathetic.

She wished she was with Shikamaru and Chouji again. She used to be the leader, the role model, in that group. She had some semblance of control. _I wonder if they think of me like that too. _She thought sadly, picking a dandelion and putting it into her hair.

Clip. Clop. Clip. Clop.

Ino looked up, tensing. The dull clip-clop of sandals on wood—who could it be? Hastily, she wiped her face—her eyes had been dry for a while, but her face was still red. She drew a kunai, hiding it behind her back.

Then, the most stunning, beautiful, girl she had ever seen walked around the tree in front of Ino. Ino's jaw dropped.

The girl paused, then contemplated Ino thoughtfully.

"Have we met before?" Both Ino and the mysterious girl blurted out at the same time. Ino blinked, then giggled.

"Yes, you seem familiar," the girl said in a surprisingly husky voice.

"You too…but I can't remember where I've seen you before," Ino mused.

"My name is Haku."

"Mine's Ino."

The two girls shook hands.

Ino opened her mouth to make small talk, but Haku beat her to the chase.

"Were you crying?"

Ino looked down, slightly ashamed. Kunoichi weren't supposed to show emotion. "Just a little bit…" That was a total lie. The grass had probably been drowned by now.

Haku surveyed her calmly. "Please tell me anything you wish. Being a ninja is hard, is it not?"

Ino's eyes opened wide. "How did you know-?"

"Your kunai."

Ino looked at her kunai, which was still grasped in a hand. Feeling foolish, she blushed. Then words rushed to the surface. Words that she had kept repeating in her mind all day long. Now that Haku had give her the invitation—

"Haku, if someone told you that you were useless, what would you do?"

Haku bent down and picked a weed, which she smelled and placed in her basket. "Do you think you're useless, Ino?"

Ino hesitated. "I…I…." She swallowed. The fears that had been lurking in her mind sprang up. "I…think I am."

Haku walked over, an elegant walk that made Ino insanely jealous, and comfortingly put a hand on Ino's shoulder. It was a callused hand, not something Ino would have expected from a beautiful girl.

"Ino, you are only useless if you think you are. There's great potential in you. Kindness, determination, confidence. The only thing is, you need to find it. You may look at a rock, and think it's useless, but chip inside, and sometimes, you'll find the most beautiful crystal. You have to work to find that crystal. The inside will surprise you so much…." Haku's eyes misted over, and Ino wondered if Haku had had some experience of her own in these matters.

Ino and Haku stood there like that for a time, with Ino's mind pondering what Haku had said. Great potential? What did Haku mean, great potential? Ino didn't think she looked strong at all. What else did she mean by those words?

Ino bit her lip, staring. Did Haku mean that Ino was beautiful inside? How would Haku know? Or did she mean—

An epiphany like a thunderbolt struck Ino. She stood there, dumbfounded, as flashbacks raced through her mind, change, metamorphosis—

"I—thank you so much, Haku." Ino felt a huge weight lift off her, and now, she knew exactly what to do. Slowly, she felt a warmness travel through her, the warmness of finally knowing something—and a slow, sad, smile traveled over her face.

"You should go back now." Haku advised, and Ino nodded quickly. She felt like tears were going to come out again. Was all change like this?

"Goodbye, Haku, good luck with whatever you have!" She shouted, waving at Haku, sprinting full pace toward the house.

Soon, the beautiful girl was gone, and Ino was rushing back to the house. _I know what I have to do now. There's still time._

As Haku watched Ino go, a sad smile spread over his face. "I wish that girl luck," he said quietly. "Hopes, dreams…that girl has plenty of them."

Ino raced from tree to tree, practically flying in her excitement. In the distance, she could see the roof of the house. She slowed down slightly, her nerves taking over her exuberance. Was…she willing to do this? Was she about to drop the standard she had been preaching for the last three years?

She swallowed her reluctance. _I have to do this. If I am to be a different kunoichi, I'll have to._

All too soon, she was at the door of the house—a quick look at the doorstep told her that none of her teammates were back yet, nor her sensei. Good.

Taking a deep breath, she knocked on the door, and Inari's sullen face stared back at her.

"I thought you were still training." The little boy's voice was flat.

"I…need to do something important."

Sighing, the boy withdrew. "Mother!" He yelled.

Within moments, Tsunami had invited Ino inside. "What happened, dear? Your friends aren't due back until an hour or so from now."

"I know. Can I request a favor, though?"

The woman's brow furrowed. "Of course."

"May I borrow a pair of your old overalls?"

Tsunami looked puzzled. "I don't see why not, but I don't know why a pretty girl like you would want to wear those old things…"

"A ninja must do what she has to do." Ino quoted, smiling at Tsunami.

Tsunami nodded, and disappeared. Trembling, Ino looked at her pale shaking hands. She would have to do this. Do this. No matter if Sakura scorned her, no matter what other people thought…she was part of Team 7 now.

Taking her kunai, she closed her eyes, and held her kunai to her head.

**That was confusing. I'm an evil, evil, author, leaving you with a cliffie like this. You guys can probably guess what she's going to do…but still, quite unsatisfying, having an open end, right?**

**Review, and the next chapter will be unveiled. Ja!**


	8. Chapter 8

**YES! Finally an update! I have just moved to a different country these few months, so of course I have been busy. I do apologize for the lack of update though.**

**Are we ready? You may want to read Chapter 6 again (the last post), because a lot (although very confusing, as some of my readers said) happened. All will be explained in this chapter!**

**But first, love to my reviewers as always, sasuino4evr, Dreamer-Aoi, Beth, Happy, A Forgotten Fairy. .AKA- Fairy, hinatafan771, Mariokutai-Reincarnated, TopazDragon, Tee Fannie, asdfghjkl, SilentStar-009, sharinganeye772, Ino2613, and SasuIno!**

Chapter 7: Am I fit to be strong?

Ino had never felt uglier in her life. Her whole life, she'd based her image of beauty on physical perfection. Her long blonde hair was immaculate; her fingernails never dirty; perfectly cut. The outfit she wore was both durable and sexy, something that she had taken great pride in when she picked it. However, in numerous occasions, she'd realized that perhaps it wasn't just so practical for a kunoichi after all. The center of your body, after all, was where the chakra came from. If that place was not heated up properly, you'd be hard pressed to force chakra out of your body. Perhaps, Ino mused, that was why she hadn't been as good in chakra control as Sakura.

Ino nervously twiddled her fingers as she waited for her teammates to come back—something she NEVER did. Shikamaru might do it. Heck, even Choji might do it when he was nervous, but she was Ino. She was supposed to be the confident one. Wasn't she?

Ino wasn't so sure anymore. After seeing Naruto and Sasuke, and being with them, she just felt so _inadequate_.

_ But I changed something, didn't I? _She insisted to herself. _I changed my values to be a true ninja…_

Looking at herself in the mirror, she swallowed down tears that came with changing who you were. Was she making the right decision? She was losing her past self, and it felt like losing a little sister…the face in the mirror looked back at her uncertainly. She was so ugly now that she changed herself. She'd changed the values she'd based herself on for the past few years.

Stings of regret pierced her. She wasn't so sure of herself anymore. Would this change really help her to become a true ninja?

She didn't know, and she hated not knowing things.

There was a bang downstairs. Ino felt her heart race. They were back. Her teammates were back.

"Tsunami-san!" Naruto's loud voice filled up the entire house. "Have you seen Ino? She disappeared and hasn't come back!"

Ino felt something warmth fill her heart as she heard those words. Her teammates cared about her after all. Wait—Naruto cared about her, but Sasuke? Biting her lip, she moved closer to the door to hear the conversation.

There was a defensive edge to Tsunami's voice. "Yes, I have seen Ino, and poor girl, I could tell she had been crying before she came home! You'd better not disturb her now."

Then Sasuke spoke up. "We need to see her now." His voice was flat.

"What for?" Tsunami said uncertainly. "There hasn't been another attack from Z-Zabuza, has there?"

"No." Sasuke's voice dropped. "I need to…"

Ino strained to hear, but he spoke far too quietly. Frustrated, she flopped down on the chair.

There was a pounding up the stairs, and Naruto burst in the room. "Ino-chan, are you—?"

Ino jumped up, flushing.

He stopped dead in his tracks and stared at her.

Sasuke burst in, albeitly slightly more quietly, a second later. Then, he too, stopped.

The three stared at each other.

Naruto's thoughts were a confused jumbled mess, one thought racing after another. _Ino cut her hair…and she ditched her outfit. What is she doing? What happened in the forest to change her like this? I still don't get it…I think she's still pretty and all, but didn't she think she was prettier with long hair?_

Sasuke's thoughts were more methodical, sorting one thought after another. _Why did Ino cut her hair? Why did she stop wearing that ridiculous outfit? _ Sasuke had to admit, without makeup or her customary flaunting , she looked so much more naturally beautiful. A pale flush crept up his neck. Thank Kami no one could see that. _But why? Could I have affected her that much? _He felt a pang of guilt yet again. He had come back simply to apologize for his rather cutting words—he probably would not have done so for any other girl, but Ino and he were teammates. Teammates had to get along…right?

It looked like Ino had thought a lot about this as well. Her large, pure blue eyes stared at Naruto, then rested on Sasuke. Her hair was reminiscent of childhood, still with bangs—but now she clipped them to the side. It reached down to her shoulders. She was clad in a simple violet outfit that was made out of sturdy warm cloth, and had several pockets on the sides. She still had the bandages, but now wore low cut capris that flowed—Sasuke could see several pockets, though. This outfit wasn't ugly at all; practical for a kunoichi. To him, she looked ready for anything. Under the layers of accessories she usually wore, Sasuke could see a girl truly blessed in beauty.

It then occurred to Sasuke that Ino waiting for him to say something. She fidgeted awkwardly, now avoiding his gaze.

Was she embarrassed? Sasuke didn't see any reason for her to be. After, this was a definite improvement.

Unfortunately, Naruto broke the silence. "You look great, Ino-chan! I think this style suits you so much more!" He beamed at her.

Ino started to laugh, and the tense atmosphere dissipated. She and Naruto immediately started to chat again, but Sasuke was left with a sour tang in his throat. He felt like he missed an important chance, but he didn't know why.

At dinner that night, the atmosphere was festive, almost. Naruto and Sasuke had done well on their first day of training, and Ino, well…

Kakashi studied the girl critically. He didn't claim to know much about women, but he did know that something very important had happened to her. Was it all because of Sasuke? The corner of his mask twitched. Perhaps the two really could learn from each other.

If Ino was self conscious, then she showed no signs of it. She was the life of the party—even more so than Naruto, who was busy wolfing down his fourth helping with Sasuke. The hair looked especially beautiful on her—none of her cornflower eyes were hidden from view, and Kakashi thought she had always looked a lot cuter in childhood. Now, that innocence of a twelve-year-old—for Ino's clothing had been more of a fifteen-year-old's—was back. Kakashi glanced over at Sasuke. He suspected the boy felt the same.

As if guessing the masked man's thoughts, Sasuke looked over at Kakashi and scowled. Kakashi sighed. Poor boy had never gone through adolescence, he supposed.

"Another bowl, please!" Naruto suppressed a huge belch. Sasuke, scowling at him, offered his bowl as well.

Ino looked over at the two boys affectionately, and sighed. Honestly, she really cared about them. But Sasuke…she didn't know if he cared for her or not. She really hoped he did.

After dinner that night—after both Sasuke and Naruto vomited and Ino had screamed at them on behalf of Tsunami—Ino gazed out at the moon and the stars that surrounded it.

A quiet presence soon joined her in her contemplation. She looked around, and saw Sasuke.

"Hey." She smiled at him. "Sorry about yelling. I get a little short-tempered sometimes."

He didn't say anything, only looked at the moon.

Ino resumed her staring, but she was now acutely aware of his presence. Suddenly she found that the moon wasn't so enchanting anymore.

A few minutes later, she couldn't bear the strain. "What is it?" She said rather snappishly toward him. "Why are you here?"

Sasuke's gaze pierced her for a second; then he looked downward. "Nothing. I came to talk, that was all."

"Well, you haven't been doing much talking." Disappointment of Sasuke's lack of encouragement that day flooded Ino.

He only grunted. This irked Ino even more. Did he not care about her feelings at all? Was he really so blind? Or perhaps he just didn't feel even friendship toward her? She opened her mouth to let an angry torrent out.

"Then, I guess all you wanted to tell me was that cutting my hair was stupid, right? And that I shouldn't have burned my clothing? In fact…"

Ino couldn't stand that expressionless look on that pale, intense face any longer. "I bet you're here just to tell me I'm ugly."

The words hung between them in the air, sticky and unmoving. Sasuke shifted position, but now he was visibly irked; his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

"Assuming again, aren't you?" Sasuke said softly. "I came out here to apologize. That was all."

Speechless, Ino stared at him. He turned his back on her.

As he started to walk away, his hands in his pockets, she thought she heard him say, "And that you're much more beautiful now."

**FINALLY, I'm done! Thanks, everyone, for bearing with me through this all. Another somewhat filler chapter, but rather important for their development. Please review!**


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